Changing the Angle
by Crysania
Summary: Tumbr prompt: Porn AU: With Gold as the director, Charming the cameraman, and Belle and Gaston as the actors. Gold falls in love with her and he's jealous of her partners. Belle can do so much better than porn. She wanted to do normal movies and Gaston led her into porn and Gold wants her to feature in a movies with clothes and real acting but their previous movies pursue them.
1. Chapter 1

Another day, another thousand dollars. It was money in her pocket, money that could go toward bettering her life someday. Starring in adult films wasn't exactly what Belle French had set out to do with her life. In fact, she hadn't really set out to do _anything_. She had dreams, big dreams. College, acting school. Someday she'd be a star in all the great sweeping romantic dramas. The next Ingrid Bergman, only in a smaller package.

Gaston LeClair, her boyfriend of the time, had talked her into auditioning for a role in a movie. She was told she'd have to go topless for it, but it turned out they were looking for something a bit…_more_. She had been desperate for money and so when they convinced her to play along, to strip down, to get on her knees and wrap her lips around a stranger's cock, she had done it.

Apparently she had done it so well, they wanted to hire her on the spot. Belle was tiny, but with an hourglass figure it turned out directors loved. She was _natural_ and they told her that there was a market for that. Men, especially the sect of men who considered themselves "nice guys" tended toward wanting the natural look, no implants, nothing fake about the girls. And Belle fit that perfectly.

Gaston had thrown a jealous fit when he found out what kind of movie he had brought his girlfriend to audition for and had stormed in to have words with them. The director liked his fire and passion, liked the look of the big burly ex-football player so much that he had offered him a job acting opposite her.

He told her he would make her a star and Belle had not found it in herself to refuse.

With three movies behind her and another one set to start the next day, she had begun getting used to taking her clothes off in front of people. She was numb to the sex. It was just another acting job that happened to involve nudity and bodily fluids. Gaston, of course, loved every moment of it. He was asked to work with other women, sometimes with Belle, sometimes without, and his buff body had put him in high demand. Men generally didn't make as much in the field as women did, but he had acted in over half a dozen movies and was already making a name for himself.

She had broken the relationship off soon after starting this mess with him. It wasn't because of the porn, not exactly. But she knew that this was the life for him. And for her? Well, she'd get out as soon as she could. Leave it all behind her. And that included leaving Gaston behind as well.

Belle arrived on set early that day, first running into their cameraman. David Nolan had been a star in his own right some years ago, before his costar, now wife, had turned up pregnant. That had scared them enough to get out of the business almost entirely. Mary Margaret had gone back to school, online classes, trying to find a career she could do where her former one wouldn't haunt her. And David had gone from starring in a series of fairy tale based adult films to being the cameraman for the studio. Their director lamented losing him every day, but seemed at least somewhat satisfied with Gaston as his replacement.

"Hey Belle," he called out to her as she raced past him.

"No time to chat. I'm afraid I need to get ready!" Belle had a routine. First yoga, then a shower, shave or wax if needed. She had someone who did her hair and make-up, made her look as fresh and young as she could. Belle was in her late twenties, but looked much younger, and so they played that up as much as possible. She couldn't pass for the "barely 18" some wanted, but she still seemed young and innocent and it was something the director was all too happy to emphasize.

"Belle…wait…" David caught up to her, gripping her arm lightly to stop her as she strode away from him.

She turned back to him, her lips pressed together, eyes narrowed. It wasn't like David, the one they all tended to call _Prince Charming_ behind his back, to be so grabby with the female stars. He generally was hands off, even during his days as a star. He had eyes only for his now-wife and so did his job with a sort of disconnect that she understood entirely.

"Our director was arrested last night."

Belle's eyes widened and she let out a rather unladylike curse. "Why?"

"Seems he had a little side business. Children." Belle shuddered. "They dragged him out right in the middle of last night's shoot."

"Ruby must have been _pissed_." Ruby was one of her closest friends on set, if one could say that about any of the other people that she worked with. Ruby was, at least, not competitive with her about roles. Belle didn't really care much as long as she was comfortable with those she performed with. She wasn't in this for the long haul, reminding herself over and over again that she would get out once she had enough money to get back on her feet. Ruby enjoyed the life and her body type was so drastically different from Belle's, tall and slender where she was small and curvaceous, that they weren't even really performing for the same audiences. Ruby was also willing to do _anything_ and Belle was, well, a bit more conservative about it all. Despite that, the director had liked her and so she found herself with enough work to keep her savings account growing.

"She was, but not over the lost shoot. You should have seen the words she screamed after him as the police took him away." The tips of his ears turned bright red. David was a strange one, certainly not someone she would have pegged for being involved in the adult industry, not that anyone would have pegged _her_ for being involved either. She hadn't watched any of his old flicks, though she knew Ruby and Ashley had spent some time with them, and she heard that he was quite _good_. The girls had certainly enjoyed it. For all her being involved in the adult industry, Belle found she actually didn't much enjoy watching the work they produced. It was all fake and some faked it worse than others.

"So what now?" She needed the money from this shoot.

"New director."

"Really?"

David nodded. "Yup. The studio had him on board almost as soon as they dragged King off. Best of the best, apparently. Gold."

Belle's eyes widened. "Of Gold Studios? I heard he was in retirement."

"He was." David leaned down close to her, quite a distance considering the difference in their heights. "Something strange went down there Belle. Gold lost interest in the business a _long _time ago and got out nearly a decade ago. He's been holed up for years God knows where. And he suddenly comes out of the woodwork for this one little film?"

"He's not taking over the whole studio?"

David shook his head. "Nope. He has some special interest in _this_ film."

"Current speculation?" She knew there would be plenty of it.

"None. The guy's a complete mystery. No one even knows what he looks like."

"Well, one thing's for sure. This ought to be _very_ interesting."

* * *

"Well, dearie, you're just gonna have to _make_ it happen." Gold slammed the phone down. He had been on the phone with his lawyers since before he even set this taking over of this film into motion. Oh, King was guilty. That much he knew. He'd had hackers getting into his computer for months, compiling evidence. When that evidence showed up on the DA's desk late the previous afternoon, there had been no doubt of Albert King's guilt. He had gone down quickly and almost painlessly.

Well, for the cops at least. King hadn't seen it coming, had tried to protest, but the sheer amount of evidence of his guilt would likely put him behind bars for _very_ long time. Gold was no longer in the business, or hadn't been until today, but that didn't stop him from having a sort of visceral hatred for King. Anyone who took advantage of children like that deserved to be gutted. Jail for life would be too kind for that disgusting excuse for humanity.

And some considered _him_ the monster. At least the girls he'd had work for him had been of legal age and had not been coerced. King was not above manipulating and forcing people to get involved in his studio. The adult industry paid well. It was sometimes easy to manipulate someone who was in desperate financial straits. Gold well knew the look of a desperate soul and he believed King's latest, a young woman with the stage name Lacey, was one of them.

She looked small, fragile, so tiny that he had no doubt she'd make him feel tall, but with curves that made it clear she was all woman. Her eyes were startlingly blue and he might have thought she was wearing contacts if it weren't for the fact that everything else about her seemed natural. She was striking, but there was a look in her eyes that he recognized all too well.

When the clothes were on, during the setup, she seemed alive. She was sincere, believable. As soon as the real sequence started, as soon as the clothes came off, she shut down. She did her job admirably, there was no doubt about that. And he had found himself suitably aroused while watching her work. But there was a sort of deadness in her eyes as she did so. She wasn't all there, her mind had simply cut out while her body did what was necessary to arouse the male viewership.

It had, honestly, been ages since he had been able to watch a pornographic film and feel the level of arousal he did while watching Lacey on screen. He had spent so many years directing the stuff that he was more worried about proper placement of cameras, of catching the right angles, of making sure his actors avoided making the ridiculous faces some of them made. After the car accident that damaged his ankle beyond repair, he had retreated to his home in a tiny little coastal Maine town and left the whole business behind. He had long since lost interest in watching other people have sex. And the pain in his ankle, the cane he was forced to use, had made him lose interest in the opposite sex all together. It was easier playing at being the town pariah, the recluse, the monster in the haunted house on the edge of town.

When that was your lot in life, you didn't really consider dating a priority. Getting by. Not thinking about the shambles your life had become. _That_ was the priority. He had managed that much.

At least he had until he'd seen _Lacey_ and then found out about King's repulsive preferences. He hadn't quite felt this _alive_ since before the accident. He had a goal, something to do with his life that didn't involve holing up in his large home, alone, and drinking until he felt nothing, until the pain disappeared.

* * *

Belle shivered slightly as she stepped into the prepping room. The start of a new film always made her a little nervous. She had gone over her lines, few though they were. She knew what she had to do. But the opening of it, the reminder that she would soon have to do this all over again always left her feeling a little on edge. She was used to it…almost.

But today felt different. Today there was a new director. Today there was _Gold_. She had heard of him, had watched a few of the movies he had put out back when he was active in the industry. His movies had come as close to art as pornography could and the actors were required to actually _act_. The stories were believable, the scripts often surprisingly romantic. There were no "hot pizza delivery guy" stories among them. The man had _taste_ and she found it very much a shame that he had abandoned his company just as it was at the top of the game. The industry could use more movies like his.

Rumors had run rampant at his sudden retirement. Even now, nearly a decade after he had walked off a set and closed down his studio, people speculated. He had gotten divorced from his wife Milah, the woman who starred in all his movies, soon after his departure and all suspected it had much to do with that. Milah had gone on to star in a series of films called _The Jolly Roger_, which featured her, her new beau, one Killian Jones, and a number of men posing as pirates. The movies were crass, nowhere near the quality Gold Studios had put out. But from all reports, Milah was happy. And Gold? He disappeared off the face of the earth as soon as the divorce was final and the studio was closed.

Belle suspected there was more to it than just that. She knew next to nothing about Gold, but she had come to know Gold Studios well during her first days in the industry. She was a studious sort and even though Gaston has reminded her, over and over again really, that it was _just_ the adult industry, she still felt obligated to study up on the subject. And she had found herself wishing that she had gone to work for the already-defunct Gold Studios.

Albert King didn't put out work as crass as Killian Jones did, and Belle had made sure to watch a couple of King's, but the level was not as high as Gold's.

Now she had the chance to work for him. Finally. After all this time. As she was prepped for the first scene, hair washed and brushed and curled, make-up applied, she wondered what he was like, what he looked like. She had never even found so much as a grainy photograph of the man. He was like a ghost, someone so far behind the scenes that he was only spoken of in hushed tones had never been photographed.

"Ariel?" Belle asked as the young woman wrapped her wet hair in a towel and led her to the chair where she'd work her magic.

"Hmmm?" Ariel was fiddling with brushes, combs, the hair dryer, mouth full of various implements to pin up bits of Belle's long dark hair as she worked. Ariel was sweet, too sweet to be working for such a studio, but she assured Belle it was good money and since she did nothing more than hair, it was actually quite a prestigious job for one so fresh out of beauty school.

"Do you know anything about this Mr. Gold?"

Ariel paused for a moment and then resumed brushing her hair. "Not much," she said with a slight shrug.

"But something?" Belle's voice was hopeful.

"Not much, really. I…well, I heard he was difficult to work with…"

"Difficult?"

"Demanding. He wanted perfection." She let the obvious rest of the statement hang. Perfection in an industry that involved the slap of body parts and more bodily fluid than Belle really wanted to think of. "There were a lot of complaints."

Belle winced as Ariel found a knot in her hair and pulled. "I can imagine so."

Ariel frowned as the brush hovered over Belle's hair. "It was a long time ago."

They both fell into silence as Ariel continued to prep her for the new shoot. She was more careful than usual, the rumors of Gold's perfection obviously making her tense.

* * *

"Is he here?" Belle rushed into the room, stopping to speak to the first person she saw.

"He's been here," David muttered, lifting the camera carefully and shifting it a few inches to the left. "Been here and left it in a shambles."

Belle looked around the room, at the unusual bustle. Under King's direction everything had been set up the same way every time. A quick introductory scene was filmed and then it was on to the "important" part of the show. But now, cameras were being moved around, people were shouting back and forth, Gaston had been escorted out and forced to change into something more appropriate for the first scene.

She didn't know Gold, but she could well imagine he had been here based on his reputation. Perfection. That was what Ariel had told her expected. Absolute perfection. Even years after he had left the business, his reputation preceded him.

It took another half hour for the cameras to be moved, the lighting to be changed, the set to be altered to fit what Gold wanted. People everywhere were cursing King for being a lecherous pedophile and leaving them in the hands of a tyrant. Belle would have found it amusing if she weren't so nervous.

"What's he like?"

David glanced at her briefly. "You'll find out soon enough." He stepped away. "All ready on set!" The words carried through the large space set up for the shoot, sending a ripple through everyone milling about.

"And here I thought you'd never be ready." Belle whipped around at the sound of the unfamiliar, accented voice as everyone around her fell into silence. The groups standing around parted, allowing her a view of the speaker.

He stepped through the crowd carefully, using his cane to push anything on the floor out of the way of his uneven gait. She wasn't quite sure what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the small older man with the shaggy graying hair. He was dressed impeccably, suit clearly expensive, tie perfectly knotted, matching square just barely peeking out of the pocket.

Belle had not been in the business long, but she was used to a director who wasn't afraid to get hands on with his actors, stepping into the scene to position arms and legs where he wanted them. King's clothes had been well-made but fairly casual. This man was clearly not the same sort. No one dressed in Armani stepped close to a sweaty, naked body.

As Gold stepped by her, Belle only had the impression of dark eyes and a hawkish gaze and then he looked past her. "I'm not one for pretty speeches. You know what to do. Get to it." The words were curt, to the point.

Belle cringed slightly when his gaze came back to settle on her. "You're my star?"

She tried not to be offended at the appraising look he gave her, his eyes strangely cold and intense. "I am." She pulled herself up taller. Standing in her ridiculously high heels as she was, she realized she was nearly the same height as their new director.

"You'll do." And then he turned away from her and she realized she could breathe again, that the air that felt like it had been sucked out of the room was suddenly rushing back in. A little light-headed, she took up her place for the first scene.

It was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews of the first chapter! This is the most AU I've gone, so I'm happy people are enjoying it so far!

* * *

The morning had been long and grueling. Quite frankly, it was worse than Belle could have even imagined. The setup had been simple and yet every time they got a few lines in, Gold was calling cut. The line wasn't said with sincerity, the person was looking in the wrong direction, the camera angle was wrong. Gaston, who was used to simply blundering through a few lines and getting to the part where he got to take his clothes off, was getting more and more flustered. As the morning went on, his delivery of his lines got worse. No matter how much Gold railed against him, even limping out onto the set and reading the lines himself in his sometimes hard to understand brogue, Gaston simply didn't get it.

It was near noon when Gaston smiled directly at the camera and read his lines in a sad imitation of Gold's own accent. Belle turned and looked at the new director, her hand clasped over her mouth, eyes wide with horror. "Gaston," she whispered. Her co-star was a hot-headed idiot at times. It was part of what had ended their relationship, though it was not the whole reason it had taken a nose-dive.

Gold was shouting cut and striding out into the middle of the set faster than Belle thought one who required a cane could move. "Mr. LeClair." The words were soft but there was a threat inherent in them. Gaston didn't notice. Of course he didn't. He just stood up straight, towering over the much smaller man.

"Can we get to the taking our clothes off part?" The words were said with a great big grin, an arrogance he was well known for. Gaston didn't enjoy acting. He enjoyed sex. And getting paid to have sex, sometimes with more than one woman was what Gaston loved more than anything in the world. Trying to come off as genuine in the opening sequence was not his forte, nor even his concern.

Gold just barely moved but in seconds, his cane was up and he smacked the impertinent fool hard on the leg. Cursing, Gaston grabbed his calf and stared at the man. His mouth hung open and Belle couldn't help but let out a slight giggle.

Gold's eyes flashed to her, quick and dark, eyebrows low. "You find this funny, do you Miss French?"

"I…um…that is…no…sir." She bit her lip to stop another laugh and met his eyes square on.

"Good. I would hate to have to fire the lot of you." He took a step toward her, leaning heavily on his cane. "You seem to be the only good thing about this production, Miss French." His voice was soft when he said the words, but they still carried in the silence of the room.

Gaston started to speak but shut his mouth as soon as Gold turned to glare at him. At least the big oaf was _somewhat_ capable of learning.

After a moment in which everyone shifted from foot to foot and looked awkwardly at each other, at the floor, at everyone but their new director, Gold announced they would break for lunch. Never in any of her time in this industry had they broken for lunch before they had filmed at least _one _of the sex scenes, but Belle suddenly realized it was after noon and she was starving.

"Mr. LeClair. " Mr. Gold's voice cut through the sudden hubbub despite its softness. Deceptively soft, Belle realized. He was one of those sorts of people who was subtle, all small movements and quiet rage, the type you had to watch out for. There were men, like Gaston, who got angry in large ways, all noise and fury. And then there was Mr. Gold. "My office. _Now_."

She had known this was coming. His final insult to their new director would not be overlooked. It _should _not be overlooked. He was out of line and everyone knew it.

As soon as he was called, everyone suddenly had _something_ to do, rushing from the room, talking in hushed voices. That left Belle alone with her former boyfriend. "Belle," he said as he walked near her on his way to Gold's office. "Come with me…please?"

At one point, the pleading tone to his voice would have convinced Belle to get up, to follow him. But no longer. She had stopped falling for his false puppy dog act a long time ago. Gaston cared for one person and that was Gaston. "You're not using me as a shield, Gaston." Belle's voice was perhaps a bit harsher than she had intended, but it achieved the proper affect.

"Oh come _on_." A second try. No more luck than the first time.

"You dug this hole. You'll need to crawl out of it all on your own." She glanced back down at the book on her lap. "Good luck."

She could feel Gaston lean down close to her for a moment. "You never were any good, Belle." And then he stalked off, leaving her alone with her book. She breathed a sigh of relief, though she was sure this little spat wouldn't make working with him any easier. Truth be told, it had gotten more and more difficult to work with him as time went on. When they were still together, there was at least _some_ small spark. Not much, she would admit. She had never really loved Gaston. He was far too superficial for her to be able to fall in love with. But they had at least had somewhat of a physical connection. But lately? Even that had fizzled. Gaston, of course, had never known. Lube was easy to come by and she made sure that despite her lack of attraction, she was ready for her scenes.

Perhaps Gold would have some way around that, some suggestion, _something_ to help. Perhaps working with someone new could be inspiring. She needed _something_ to get herself through this movie, especially with the way her co-star was reacting to their new director.

Gaston was in with Gold for no longer than a few minutes when the yelling began. Ruby came rushing out of make-up, Ariel hot on her heels.

"What's going on?" Ariel was the first to speak, putting her hand on Belle's shoulder and leaning forward, almost as if the smaller woman could protect her from the shouting coming out of Gold's office.

"Gaston's in there," Belle responded with.

"That much is obvious." She could hear the mirth in Ruby's voice. When Gaston got angry, he bellowed like an angry bull. There wasn't much of a chance that _anyone_ didn't hear him. "But…"

She didn't get a chance to say anything further. Gaston came storming out of the room and took only a handful of steps before turning back. Gold stood in the doorway of the office, cane in one hand, leaning against the wall. There was a look to his face, one that Belle was wont to call _satisfied_. Yes, he was _satisfied_ with all of this, with this show, with Gaston's anger.

"You'll regret this, Gold." Gaston's voice was still slurred with anger.

"Oh I doubt that very much." Gold still spoke with that small smirk on his face, each word clipped.

"I'll sue you!" the younger man shouted back. "Sue you for every penny."

"You were fired, Mr. LeClair. Anyone on set will attest to your inability to do your part." He waved one hand in the air at the crowd gathering around. His eyes met Belle's and in just that one small moment she could see sarcasm, anger, humor, and something else…something…darker…lurking there in the depths of his eyes. She couldn't say what, really, and found herself shuddering as she looked away.

Gaston made a loud, incoherent noise and stormed off, knocking over anything that got in his way as he did so. David managed to grab onto one very expensive camera just before it hit the ground.

"Excellent save, Mr. Nolan," Gold said, still in that same smooth tone of voice. "Miss French. I need to see you next."

Belle felt her heart drop down into her stomach. This was it. Gold was taking over the studio and now the stars were being let go so he could replace them with people he preferred. She had done _everything_ she could that morning to make it all work, giving it her all. She loved those moments, really, the ones where she was just acting. It was what she wanted to do, after all. Acting…with clothes _on_. After over a year of working in the adult film industry, it almost seemed a novelty. It had been nice, really, spending all morning clothed and working.

She glanced quickly at Ruby and Ariel, noted their wide eyes. "Yes, sir." She rose from her seat, slowly, carefully. Ariel reached out and grasped Belle's shoulder, her eyes wide. "I'll be fine." Her face felt tight as she tried to smile at her friend. Truth be told, she was pretty sure she _wasn't_ going to be fine.

* * *

Gold stood back as she entered his office, waving her in with the hand not resting atop his cane. He still wore that small smirk and that still left her unsettled. It was her turn. Her turn to face this dragon in his lair. And probably her turn to be let go. She wouldn't scream. She wouldn't threaten. She'd make sure she didn't even cry. She'd walk out with head held high, dignity intact.

As she entered the office, the door shutting behind her with a sort of finality she found she didn't enjoy, she turned to find Gold studying her. She wouldn't call his gaze calculating exactly, but assessing perhaps. "Oh don't worry Miss French. I'm not doing the same to you. Mr. LeClair was a disaster. This production deserves better." He stepped toward her and she suddenly realized just how close he was. One of his hands was slightly raised, as if he wanted to reach out and touch her. At the last minute his fingers pressed together and he backed away. "_You_ deserve better."

Belle felt a shiver go up her spine at the whispered words.

"I do?"

He made a small scoffing noise and moved to sit down in one of the chairs. "This office is ridiculously decadent."

The change of subject startled her and she glanced around the room. She had never really noticed it before, had in fact rarely been alone with Albert King in the room since she was first hired. "Yes. I suppose it is."

They fell into silence then and Belle could feel the oppressive weight of his presence as she glanced around the room, attempting to look simply idle instead of worried. She deserved better. That was something she supposed. She wasn't sure that King ever thought she deserved better. In fact, she was often sure he thought she deserved _worse_, constantly pairing up Gaston with other women and trying to foist the men new to the industry onto her. Gaston's jealousy and King's interest in keeping the large, burly man had kept them paired up, but she had known it was only a matter of time before he separated them.

Belle finally spoke. "I deserve better?"

"Back to that are we?" Gold said as he leaned forward, gripping the handle of his cane tightly in both hands, knuckles turning white. "Please, Miss French, sit." He didn't move his hands, but indicated the chair nearest to him with a nod of his head.

Taking a deep breath, Belle stepped closer to him and did as he asked. The chair was an awkward one to sit in, all expensive leather with a large, deep seat. To keep herself from simply falling back into it, she sat on the very edge. Her knee grazed Gold's as she shifted and she heard him suck in a breath on a slight hiss. "I'm sorry…"

"It's no matter."

"Your knee?"

"What?" The word nearly exploded out of his mouth and Belle cringed.

She waved a hand toward him. "I didn't hurt you?"

"I am not quite so fragile as all that, Miss French." The words were clipped and she could _feel_ the iciness behind them.

"I'm sorry."

"You keep saying that," he pointed out.

"I do." She worried her lower lip with her teeth and saw his eyes gravitate to her mouth.

He licked his lips, cleared his throat, before he spoke again. "Why?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly, eyes shifting to the side, avoiding his gaze.

There was a pause. "It's not my knee."

She looked back up at him. "No?" She didn't know what else to say at that moment, waited for him to speak, waited for him to absolve her of this guilt. It seemed she couldn't quite manage to say the right thing.

"You didn't choose this career, did you?" For a moment, he sounded almost kind.

"How did you know that?" Even King had never known that. Only Gaston, who had dragged her into the career had known that she had gone in expecting to audition for a bit part in movie and come out agreeing, however reluctantly, to star in an adult film.

He tapped a DVD sitting on top of his desk. "Your movies."

"Oh," she said and felt a blush creep up her cheeks. Why she should find herself embarrassed at what she did in front of _this_ man was beyond her understanding. He was involved in the industry too, had directed countless videos of people having sex. She had nothing he hadn't seen before, yet for some reason she wanted to be classier for him, not just another woman who spreads her legs on screen. Perhaps it was the suit or the elegant cane, or the way mischief danced just behind his eyes, or the strangely graceful hand movements as he spoke.

It might have been the accent as well.

_No_, she amended. _It was _definitely_ the accent_. She couldn't deny that one. Not even if she really wanted to.

"Yes…well…" He cleared his throat and Belle found it odd that he seemed almost contrite about it all. "I felt it necessary before I took over this venture."

Belle's eyebrows rose. "Before you…"

"You didn't think the police just accidentally stumbled into Albert King's proclivities, do you?" There was a slight sneer in his voice that Belle sensed went far deeper than simple disgust at what they all now knew King was into. Belle still found herself shuddering when she thought about it, about the times she had been in this room with him, had been touched by him as he manipulated the actors into proper position. It was downright creepy, that's what it was.

"You knew?"

"I suspected." Still that same smirk.

Belle leaned forward and reached out a hand to cover Gold's. "Thank you." The words were said on a whisper. His hand stiffened beneath hers and she drew away from him.

"So your career…"

"Right." She took a deep breath. Another. There was a sort of tightness somewhere in her chest. The room seemed small, much smaller than it had a moment ago. "You're right. I…Well, let's just say I stumbled into this career by accident."

"One does not end up in this industry by _accident_, Miss French." The words were flat, yet pointed.

"Then perhaps I'm the only one," she shot back and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth.

For a moment he stared at her and then, finally, let out a small bark of laughter. "Someday I may ask you to tell that story."

"Someday I might just tell you it." Belle leaned back in the chair, her half smirk echoing Gold's own.

"Why are you still here then?"

"You haven't dismissed me." He called her bluff with just one small raise of an eyebrow. Sighing, she spoke again. "Probably for the same reason many of us are here. I need the money."

"Debts?"

"Not exactly. Just…poor. My father made some bad investments and lost his business many years ago. We've scraped by since then. When this opportunity came up…" Her voice trailed off. It really had been too good to resist. She was comfortable with herself, a bit awkward about the cameras at first, but it had been quick, easy money. It still was. And she didn't have enough, never enough. She wanted a life, a career, a home. Maybe a family if this somehow managed to not pursue her for the rest of her life.

"Of course," he murmured.

"When I've made enough, I'm getting out. Soon, I hope." She gave him a tight grin. "No offense to you."

"I've been _out_ for many years, Miss French. None taken."

"Right." She bit her lower lip again. "What happened there?"

A _look_ flashed across his face for a moment, lips pressing together, eyes narrowing, hands tightening on the cane he still held despite his seated position. And then it was gone, smoothing back in that same half smile, that same bland look of slight indifference. "That is, quite frankly, none of your business."

"Of course." Belle shifted in her seat, the creak of the leather the only sound in the room for a moment. She watched as Gold's hands loosened slightly on the cane. "I wanted to do real movies."

He was suddenly back with her, leaning forward, eyes intent. "Did you now?"

"I did," she said with a small laugh. "A long time ago, I imagined myself as the star of action flicks. Can you imagine the adventure filming one of those would be?"

"I'm sure." He was still studying her. She felt a bit like a bug under a microscope with his gaze on her, as if he were somehow taking her apart piece by piece as he watched. "You don't look like the action type, Miss French."

She allowed a small laugh at that. "No I suppose I don't. But it doesn't really matter now anyway, does it?"

He cocked his head slightly to the side. "Why do you say that?"

"After this?" She waved a hand around her. "I don't expect to ever be taken seriously. The most I can hope for is enough money to invest and to fall into obscurity. Perhaps I'll open some small business in a little town where no one has heard of me."

"Oh, I wouldn't count yourself out quite so quickly. You'd be surprised at how many famous movie stars started in this business."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. They sweep it under the rug of course, hire whole teams of people to cover it up. But still, it gets out." The grin he gave her was wolfish. "Everyone simply ignores it and goes on with their day. The past is the _past_, Miss French. You can leave it behind at any time."

"Are you trying to get me to quit?" Her voice was a bit shaky as she spoke and she clasped her hands tightly together in front of her.

"Of course not. But I know you _want_ to."

She scooted to the edge of her seat, leaned toward him. If she came a little too close to him, if she felt a little breathless at his proximity, she tried to pretend she didn't notice. "How…how do you know that?"

He leaned forward, stance echoing hers. "I can see it in your eyes. You are alive, warm, _real_ in the openers. And then you do the rest of your job admirably, but anyone who cares can see you've tuned out."

She shook her head. "And most people don't care."

"They're only looking at body parts," he confirmed.

"But not you?"

"I've long since stopped caring about such things." His eyes traveling down her body, the way he licked his lips, led her to believe he hadn't stopped caring as much as he claimed.

She wanted to point out that was highly unlikely, but instead opted to stick with more neutral territory. "So why did you step in and take this production over?"

There was a smirk upon his face as he spoke next. "My reasons are my own, Miss French."

She gave him an assessing look. "Of course they are." He had been a mystery in the industry for a long time. It seemed he intended to remain that way. "Then if we're done here…" She let the words trail off.

"Oh, I highly doubt we're _done_." The words sent a shiver up her spine. "But for now? I suppose we are." He stood then, using his cane to balance as he rose from the deep chair, and she was once again struck with curiosity about how he came by needing the cane. She didn't ask, though. She knew he wouldn't give her a straight answer, if he responded to the question at all.

She followed his lead, standing and stepping toward the door. His hand came to rest on her waist as he moved toward the door with her. The weight of it, the warmth of it, surprised her. She hadn't expected him to touch her.

She certainly hadn't expected him to turn toward her as she opened the door, hadn't expected him to reach out and grasp her hand. He brought it to his lips and placed a chaste kiss on the back of her hand. Belle gasped as he did so, heat pooling somewhere inside her, and he dropped her hand as if he was suddenly burned by her skin.

"Well, Miss French…"

"Belle," she whispered. "Please…my name is Belle."

He nodded. "I do believe we have much to discuss about your career in the upcoming days."

"We do?"

"Oh yes," he said and the words were almost a sigh. "We'll meet again soon." And then he stepped back and let the door close between them.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: To the guest who was disappointed or angered by this story. I'm sorry you feel that way. I think if you kept reading past "Porn AU" you would find out that my Belle is not "selling herself cheaply," is not doing it for Gaston, and is indeed strong with a lot of self-respect and is not abused. But it's your prerogative to not read this story. We can't please everyone and we have to write what we want to and what challenges us. This is outside my usual area and I am enjoying the challenge of it. If you don't like it, I have some 50+ other stories to read that have nothing to do with the porn industry, including Fate Loves the Fearless, which is a long multi-chapter work that is complete.

To everyone else, thank you! I'm so glad people are on board with this story! It's been quite the challenge for me so far!

* * *

When Belle exited Gold's office she found several members of the crew staring at her, mouths slightly open. If she wasn't so disconcerted by the entire conversation, she might have found it comical. As is, she dismissed them all with a glance and left the room to get changed.

There would be no more filming that day, not without their male star. Gaston was fired, gone. He had left the building shouting about how Gold would regret losing him, still ranting about how he'd sue him as security had walked him out. There wasn't one person who was unhappy he was gone as Belle discovered quickly. Gaston had bullied the cameramen, hit on the makeup artists, looked down on the support staff. She never thought he was a _good_ man, exactly, but it seemed that being involved in the adult industry had gone to his head and he had come to think of himself as a bit of a God among men.

And so without one of their stars, production was halted. Auditions would have to begin for a new co-star and Belle had to admit she had felt a bit nauseous about it. She knew how this went. She knew Gold would want to see how someone looked with _her_, which meant sleeping with countless men while he watched with a clinical eye, assessing how they looked together and how well the man performed with her.

She had never had to do it before, often thankful that she had come into the business with another person. But she had heard stories.

She didn't want to be forced to find out firsthand how auditioning a new star went. But she also knew that refusing to do so would result in her career going the way of Gaston's. And she wasn't quite sure she was ready for that. She still needed the money.

David was the first one to approach her after her meeting in Gold's office. "He didn't try anything, did he?" He stopped her in the hallway on her way back to her dressing room.

"Try…what?"

"_Anything_," he said with a sideways glance that made it clear what he meant. David was a good man. He always had been. She knew he was only looking out for her, but it still bothered her just a little bit.

"What you saw was the worst of it." She tried to push past him, tried to leave the conversation, but David was having none of that.

"He doesn't have the best reputation…"

"He doesn't have _any_ reputation," Belle shot back. "He's been out of the business for ages. How can anyone know what he's like?"

David just shook his head. "I never worked with him, but I heard enough about him when Mary Margaret and I were making movies."

"Well, I'm not concerned with that right now. He was a perfect gentleman." She finally managed to push past him and he let her go that time.

She couldn't really explain why she was angry at David's presumptuousness, why his words had hurt her as if they were directed at _her_. She felt strangely protective of their new director. He seemed to see into her heart, seemed to _know_ her. She'd never met someone before who _got_ her from the first time they met. It was strange, a little unsettling. But somehow she was sure that meeting him meant good things for her future.

* * *

Three days. It had been three long days since Gaston had been fired. Belle had not been called upon to do anything for their new recruits. Gold had come to her, early the first morning, and informed her that she would not be needed until the final auditions, that they had a "stand in."

She had been surprised, but at the same time _not_. Gold knew. _He knew_. She wasn't cut out for this business and Gold, with all his experience, had picked up on it from watching her movies alone. The fact that he let her off the hook for auditions was surprising, but welcome.

It was lunch break on the third day when Ruby entered the lunch area and threw herself down in a chair next to Belle. She looked slightly ragged, dark circles under her eyes, the lines of her body etched in a strange combination of anger and exhaustion.

Belle reached out a hand to her friend and was surprised when she pulled away quickly from her. "Ruby, what's wrong?"

"You don't even want to know, Belle." He voice was flat as she spoke.

"But I do…"

"Really? Are you sure? Because it's your friend, Gold."

"He's not my…"

"He's more your friend than anyone else's. He has me _helping_ with the auditions for Gaston's replacement."

Belle's eyes widened. "But…shouldn't that be my job?"

Ruby gave harsh laugh. "Oh most certainly. And yet Gold doesn't want you getting 'worn out' and so _I_ get to get worn out instead."

"Maybe if I talked to him?" This wasn't how Belle wanted this to go. This was _her_ job, after all. Her partner. It should be her in there seeing how they looked together, how they worked together.

Ruby snorted. "I doubt that will work."

Belle cocked her head to the side. "It's my _job_ though, Ruby. Why wouldn't he listen to reason?"

"The man doesn't listen to reason, sister," came a voice behind them. Belle turned around and graced the new arrival with a smile.

"Leroy!" She stood quickly and gave the stocky man a quick hug. "I haven't seen you around since this whole thing went down. I was afraid that…"

"Nah," the gruff older man said, waving one meaty hand toward her. "They wouldn't let ol' Leroy go."

"Well, good." She waved at one chair and he sat.

"Only for a minute, sister. Gotta get back to work, you know?"

"Of course."

"So what _is_ going on?" Ruby asked, leaning forward. "I know you hear everything that goes on."

Between Ruby's and Leroy's stories, Belle was starting to get the whole picture. Countless young men had come in and landed in Gold's office. The vast majority were dismissed quickly. No one knew what Gold said to them, but each left with a grim look on their face, some with an angry scowl. Only once had someone shouted something as he left, something about not being _good enough_ for his precious Lacey. He had come close to being hit with Gold's cane.

A handful of them, more than Ruby would have liked, ended up having to try scenes with her. It made little sense, really. Ruby was nothing like Belle. She was tall, slender, willing to do almost anything on screen. Belle was far more conservative and built absolutely nothing like Ruby. Having her step in for her in auditions was ridiculous.

"I just don't understand." Belle shook her head. "It should be me."

"There's a reason it's not, sister," Leroy said, sharing a _look_ with Ruby.

"A reason." Belle's voice was flat as she spoke.

"Oh yeah," Ruby said. "Jealousy."

"Over _what_?" Belle shook her head.

Ruby leaned closer to Belle. "Please, you don't think it's obvious, Belle? He swoops in here like some sort of creepy Prince Charming, getting King arrested and taking over the production after being out of the industry for _years_. And in one day he's fired Gaston and won't find a replacement to work with you?"

"He's looking for one" Belle pointed out.

"Right. Let me tell you how the auditions go. He brings in some guy, we do a perfectly good scene. Some of those guys are _hot_. A couple have been in the industry for a few years, really know their stuff. He calls cut, says 'Thank you, you're not what we're looking for,' in that snippy voice of his and off they go. Every single time."

"But…"

"He's not looking for one, Belle. I don't know _what_ he's doing. But he's not looking for one, not for you at least." She gave her a pointed look.

"But…"

"Jealousy, sister," Leroy said. "It's pretty obvious."

Belle had no chance to respond to such crazy accusations before Ariel came to join them. The bubbly hair dresser looked well-rested, which was more than Belle could say for most of the crew, who were on pins and needles wondering when production would pick up, when they would begin work again, _if_ they would still have jobs.

"You look well, Ariel," Belle said as her friend sat down.

"Getting paid to do no work? Can't complain." The hairdresser shrugged.

Ruby just snorted and Ariel's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Well, friends, I better get back to my job. More men to fuck. Oh joy."

As Ruby strode off, Ariel turned to Belle, still with that confused look in her eyes. "What's all of that about?"

"You don't want to know. Look, I hate to run, but I think I need to go talk to Gold." Belle stood and gave her friend's arm a squeeze.

"Oh, right…of course," Ariel responded with.

"Not you _too_." Belle was exasperated. She had one meeting, _one_, with their director and suddenly he's a jealous bastard refusing to find a partner for her. "He kissed my damned hand, guys. That's _it_. You're reading far too much into this."

As she walked off, she could hear Leroy and Ariel muttering to each other. For a moment, she thought about turning back to them, confronting them, but it just wasn't worth it. Gossip in the industry was a well-established part of it all. Let them gossip. Let them believe whatever they wanted to. _She_ needed to talk to Gold about this ridiculous use of Ruby as her stand-in for auditions.

* * *

Belle threw open the door of Gold's office without even knocking. She wasn't going to give him a chance to school himself into that cool indifference he had shown her the last time she was there. She hadn't seen him since that parting kiss on the hand, since his cool lips had caused a jolt of _something_. He hadn't sought her out and she hadn't tried to find him either. He would find her when he needed her.

But now she had something else to be concerned about. Ruby. Ruby was _exhausted_. And she was doing _Belle's _job.

When she strode into his office, the scene was much as she expected. Gold sat behind his desk, hands folded together, eyes that were both uninterested and assessing at the same time watching the couple on the couch. Ruby was there, bent over with one hand between her legs and a man who could not have been much older than 18 pounding into her from behind. Ruby had been in the middle of a moan when Belle walked in and the moan ended with a squeak and her name.

The young man faltered.

"Oh do carry on," Gold said, waving one hand at the couple. "You'll have to get used to distractions if you want to make it in this field."

The young man, clearly uncomfortable with the turn events, gritted his teeth and returned to the task at hand.

"Much better," Gold murmured. "Now Miss French, what can I do for you?"

Belle had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "What is _this_?" She waved her hand at Ruby and the young man with her.

"I believe that's what's called an 'audition' in this industry. I'm sure you're familiar with it…" He let the words hang.

"You know that's not what I was asking." She tried to keep her voice neutral but she could feel the anger starting to creep in. "Why is Ruby doing this?"

"Because Ruby works for the studio." He sounded guileless, absolutely innocent of any wrong-doing. But the smirk that graced his face told otherwise.

"_I_ should be doing this." She tried to ignore the fact that she actually did not _want_ to do it. But if it saved Ruby, if it stopped the gossip and the insanity of it all, then she'd take her proper place with whatever young men Gold trotted in for auditions.

"Come here, Miss French." He crooked a finger at her and she found herself utterly powerless to resist the summons, stepping closer to his desk. "Good," he murmured, reaching out and wrapping an arm around her waist. He drew her closer and Belle found it difficult to draw air into her lungs. "I have a new script for you." He leaned toward her as she spoke, the words whispered into her ear. She felt a shiver go down her spine at the feeling of his hot breath across her neck.

"A script? What was wrong with the old one?"

He gave a bark of laughter. "Plenty." He said no more, just placed the script in her hand and stepped away from her to address the other occupants of the room that, for a moment, Belle had completely forgotten about. "You're dismissed, Miss Lucas." Ruby pulled away from the young man, watching Gold with narrowed eyes. "And you…Mr…whatever your name is. Your services will not be needed."

"But…" the young man started to speak. All eyes turned to him, standing naked next to the couch, still aroused.

"Ah yes." Gold said. "Miss Lucas can finish you off, if she so desires. Otherwise, there's a bathroom down the hall." With that, he turned away from the pair as they tossed on their robes, gathered up discarded clothing, and fled the office.

"Was that really necessary?" Belle's voice was tight as she spoke.

"Of course not," Gold sneered back at her. "Nothing is ever _necessary_."

Her eyes narrowed. "A little politeness goes a long way."

"I'm sure it does," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Now, Miss French, it appears that you have a script to study, so run along then."

"Run _along_?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him with all the anger her tiny frame would allow.

Gold sighed. "It has been a trying day, Miss French."

"I'm sure it has." The words came out before she could stop them.

He stepped toward the door and Belle stepped back, away from him, craving space. Whenever she was left alone with him it felt like the whole world was collapsing around them. He was not a large man, not at all, only a handful of inches taller than she was, yet it felt like he was the focal point of the whole world when she was alone in the office with him.

He sighed again. "Lunch, Miss French. Tomorrow. Erawan's."

"Thai? I didn't take you for the Thai type, Mr. Gold." She put her hand on the doorknob, turned, pushed it slightly open.

"Really?" She could see him look over her shoulder, no doubt at whomever might have been behind her. "And what, pray tell, did you take me for?"

"Fancy French restaurant? Waiters in tuxedos? That sort of thing." Something that fit the expensive suits, the aloof demeanor.

"With a porn star?" And she could _hear_ the scorn in his voice, could hear it dripping from every syllable.

Words came into her mind, biting words, words with only four letters, words that might wound or destroy. Instead, she tamped them down and simply walked out on him. It was easier that way sometimes. She wouldn't say something she would regret.

She heard the door slam shut and hoped it clipped his nose.

* * *

The knock on the door didn't startle him, not exactly. It came exactly six minutes after he had made a complete and utter ass of himself. Pushing people away. That was what he was good at and he had succeeded again, the words coming out of his mouth before he could even stop them. And then she was gone, the door slamming shut in his face, almost catching his outstretched hand before he could yank it back.

_You wanted aloof, you idiot_. Yes, yes he did. Aloof, uncaring. Caring only got you hurt in the end. It might feel good for a time, but the end result was always the same. Alone, heart ripped to shreds. It was easier to be alone from the start. There was no pain that way, just longing. But _aloof_ and _mean_ were not the same thing.

"Yes, yes" Gold finally said, not even trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Come in if you must."

A moment later, the door moved, a timid sliding open of just a few inches. "Mr. Gold?"

"Come in, Mr. Nolan." The door opened further and the younger man squeezed in. Gold gave a twisted smile. He knew David Nolan well, probably far better than the younger man realized. Nolan had never worked for him during his time as a star, though Gold couldn't say he didn't try to get him on board many years ago. But his study of him from years ago had given him a bit of insight into the man. "And how is your lovely wife these days?"

"I...uh…she's well. In school. Trying to better her life." David stammered over the words, clearly unnerved

"Indeed," Gold murmured. "And what can I do for _you_, Mr. Nolan?"

"Right..." The younger man ran his hands through his short hair. "What did you do to her?"

Gold smirked. "Her?"

"Belle," David said and for the first time since meeting him, Gold watched him draw some inner strength, some courage, and stride forward. He leaned over his desk, put his hands flat on it. "She's threatening to quit."

"Oh is she now?" The calm remained, the outer shell, the smirk that others saw. "Why ever would she want to quit?"

"I don't know. But she came out of here on fire. I've never _seen_ her so angry before." David shook his head.

"Yes well…" Gold paused for a moment. "I might have…said something…that upset her."

"Really?" One of David's eyebrows rose.

"Let's just say that she might be justified in whatever she says about me." He closed his eyes for a moment. More than justified, really. She would be justified in taking his own cane and beating him to a pulp. She would be justified in quitting, in never having anything to do with him again. Not that she had had much to do with him so far. He had kept to his office, out of the way, _away_ from her. He wanted her. _Oh God_ did he want her. He went home in the evening, watched her videos, imagined her wrapped around him the way she wrapped around her co-star. They'd fit better together though. He'd take her from behind, bent over the table, have her straddle him, legs on either side. They'd _work_ together and the fire he'd seen in her when she stormed out made him want her all the more.

"I see," David responded with.

"You don't," Gold shot back. "But that's fine."

David ran his hands through his hair again, let out a slight huff of annoyance. "Look, I don't know what all of this is about. But Ruby's mad that you're using her for these auditions. Belle has locked herself in her dressing room after a few choice words that I have _never_ heard her say before. And there has been a parade of guys coming through who leave looking pissed off and clearly without a job."

"That about sums it up, yes."

Another deep breath from David. Gold could see him steeling his nerves to say whatever he had to say. The man was brave, that much he would give him. The women of the studio called him "Prince Charming" behind his back, so it was no surprise that he came rushing to Belle's aid. "Is this some jealousy thing?"

"Pardon me?" Gold's voice had turned soft again, dangerous.

"That's the word on the street…well…studio…whatever…"

"I think my personal life is none of your business." _Jealousy_. He scoffed as his heart took a small dive. He was simply looking for the right partner for the petite woman. Nothing more. _Jealousy_. As if he were capable of that emotion.

"It's just that…"

"It has nothing to do with jealousy." His eyes slid away from David's briefly. "Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Nolan. I have some audition tapes to peruse.

For a moment the younger man didn't move, his hands still on the desk, but then he leaned forward just a tiny bit more. "If you hurt her, you'll regret it." Gold's eyes met his for just a moment and his head tilted in a small nod.

David left then, apparently satisfied with the response. Gold leaned back in his chair, steepled his hands together, and breathed a sigh of relief. He would not hurt her…at least not any more than he already had.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you all for the kinds words and reviews! I very much appreciate them!

* * *

Belle didn't even know why she bothered showing up to the lunch date. Well, lunch _whatever_ it was with Mr. Gold. It wasn't a date. It was _clearly_ not a date. She had contemplated simply leaving him there alone, wondering if she would show, wondering if she would even continue to work for him after what he said. His parting shot the day before hurt, there was no doubt about that. But it also left her so very confused over his actions. One moment he was kissing her hand, treating her as a gentleman would. The next he was treating her as if she were his whore, bought and paid for when he swept in to take over the studio..

The script he had handed her had gone untouched in her purse. She hadn't had the heart to even so much as glance at it after their little…well…their little whatever that thing was in his office. She had put it away, found a good book, taken a soak in her bathtub and pushed her worries out of her mind as best she could.

The man was an enigma, a mystery with more layers than she could even begin to contemplate. She wasn't sure if she was intrigued or if she wanted to simply run from the infuriating man. He had walked into their lives not more than a handful of days ago and already she felt like everything she had ever known had been sent into a tailspin. Gaston was out of her life for good. Oh, she knew he would find his way back into the adult industry. The industry _loved_ him after all, so it wouldn't be difficult for him to approach another studio with some sob story about how Gold had let him go and be taken under wing quickly. Without Belle to hold him back, she was sure he could go as crass as he wanted to. But _she_ wouldn't have to have anything to do with him, something she had thought would occur much further down the line than it had.

So despite all her misgivings, despite her anger and confusion, Belle showed up to the Thai restaurant Gold had invited her to. She refused to go down without at least a little bit of a fight, however. If he thought he could insult her and get away with it, really, the man had it coming.

She stepped in and saw him there already and was pleased to see him looking incredibly impatient, perhaps even a little bit haggard beneath the sharp-dressed exterior. She paused to study him before he noticed her, and was pleased to see him drumming his fingers on the table and glancing down at his watch. _Good then_. Let him worry if she was going to show up or not. He deserved that much and far more after what he had said to her. Really, he deserved for her to dump his drink over his head and be done with him.

With a confidence she hoped he couldn't see she was faking, Belle swept in toward the table. Gold quit his fidgeting as soon as he saw her, standing as she approached. "Miss French." He bowed somewhat formally and reached out for her hand. She snatched it back. Two could play at this game. "Of course," he said with a nod. "Won't you join me?"

"That's the plan, isn't it?" She slid her coat off and had to fight back a grin as she heard the strange choking sound Gold made. Sitting down, she crossed her legs and leaned forward. "Are you ok, Mr. Gold? Should I call for an ambulance?"

He glared at her as he took a sip of water and finally seemed to find his voice. When he spoke, it was a little more raspy than usual, the brogue just a tiny bit thicker. "What the bloody hell are you wearing?"

It was only then that Belle allowed the smile to creep across her face. She could be just as feral about her smiles as Gold was, if the occasion called for it. "I thought I'd dress the part." It was her only concession to how much his words had bothered her since she walked out of his office the day before. They had had made her feel _dirty_. And she had _never_ felt dirty, not the entire time she had been involved in the industry. So instead of showing that ire or not showing up for lunch at all, she decided to defeat him at his own game.

"The part." His voice was flat when he spoke.

"Exactly," Belle said with a bright smile. Skirt so short that if she bent over everyone would have a view of thong she had worn for the occasion, tight corset, low cut blouse. She was almost falling out of it and if she leaned forward _just so_ she knew that he would catch a glimpse of her nipples. The outfit was so revealing it was almost ridiculous and under normal circumstances, Belle would have felt embarrassed to be seen in it. But not today. Today she was enjoying the way Gold's eyes could not focus on her, the way he swallowed convulsively, the way he kept licking his lips. She leaned back in her seat. "Shall we order?"

"Order." Still that same flat voice.

Belle bit her lower lip and smiled. "Yes. We _are_ here to eat, aren't we Mr. Gold?"

"I…yes…"

"Well, good then." And she raised her hand, waving the waitress over.

The woman gave her a _look_. She knew the look. She knew it meant no good. Then her eyes fell on Gold and they narrowed even more. "We don't serve your kind here."

His eyebrows shot up. "Pardon me?" The words were tight, but his eyes did not move off of Belle's rather brazen form.

"Your _kind_, sir." The woman gave a rather emphatic nod at Belle. "If you would kindly leave…"

Gold refused to move and so Belle stood, glancing around the room. She was almost enjoying the show…_almost_. If it didn't cut so close to home, she might have truly enjoyed it. Was a porn star really all that much better than a prostitute, after all? She certainly had her doubts about that. "You heard her, Gold." Belle's voice was almost sickly sweet as she spoke, but still loud enough to carry. "They don't serve porn stars here."

Gold was suddenly on his feet and she could _see_ the flash of fire in his eyes. His cane was in hand and she waited for him to use it. On her, on the waitress, on the patron who let out a snicker at the situation. And then he stood taller, turned far more gracefully than she thought someone who needed a cane would be able to, and walked out.

Belle followed behind, wrapping her coat tightly around herself, head held high. She had this moment at least. She fully expected it to blow up rather spectacularly in her face soon enough.

* * *

Gold had offered her a ride back to the studio and they had done so in silence. Every time she glanced over at him, his lips were pressed together, hands gripping the wheel tight, eyes staring at the road. He was angry. Oh, was he angry. She didn't know him well, not yet, but every line of his body screamed with rage.

As they made their way back to his office, she tried not to smile. Actually, she knew she _shouldn't_ smile. That little stunt might have cost her this job, but still. It was over and done with. She hoped her point had been properly made.

"Won't you follow me to my office, Miss French?" Gold finally said as they approached the intersection that would lead them in opposite directions.

"Of course," she said. Sweet. She was going for sweet, though she wasn't sure if she succeeded entirely in that endeavor.

He opened the door and waved her into his office. Belle stepped through and started to turn back toward him. No sooner had the door closed than she found herself pushed up against the wall, one of Gold's hands hitting the wall near her head, the one holding the cane helping to trap her there. "Now just what _was_ that about, Miss French?"

She took a breath, shallow, a little more rapid that she wanted it to be. She could feel the heat coming off his body, could feel his breath across her face. He was dangerous, his eyes dark and slightly crazed in the dim office. "You know," she finally managed to say. He didn't respond, just glared at her. "You want to treat me like a whore, then you're going to have to deal with me in public looking like one."

"You're not a whore," he finally said and released her, turning his back on her. As he walked away, gripping his cane hard, she could see his other hand shaking slightly. When he got to his desk, when he had something stable to lean on, he turned back toward her. "You're _not_."

"You seemed to think so yesterday." She gave him a pointed look.

He shook his head. "My words were…"

"Rude?" Belle interrupted him with. "Disgusting? Horrifying? Abhorrent?"

"I was going to say unfortunate," he said with a small wave of his hand. "But those are rather apt."

"Why?"

His eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"_Why_ did you say it? If you didn't really mean it, that is."

He sighed. "I didn't mean it."

"Then?"

"I don't know." He looked away from her and she knew. She _knew_. It wasn't like she hadn't seen it before. She had seen friends throw walls up like this more often than she'd like to. It was common in the industry, really, where many people had come into it with some serious baggage. People didn't talk about their lives outside, didn't often talk about where they came from. Standard defense mechanism stuff. Even Belle hadn't told many how she had come to be in the industry and why she stayed in.

There were so many walls around Gold's heart and mind she wasn't sure anyone could get through them. She wasn't even sure she wanted to try, though a part of her, a teeny tiny little part of her heart went out to someone who had to keep enclosed in such thick walls. He had been hurt before. She was sure of it.

Belled backed away, found the doorknob behind her. "If you don't want to say, then I'm just going to go."

"Belle…wait." He raised one hand up as he stepped back around the desk. Standing alone, leaning on his cane, without the desk as a barrier, he suddenly looked small and almost fragile.

She hesitated, raised one eyebrow, and just waited silently for him to continue.

"Please…just…look at the script I gave you."

She felt deflated at his words for some reason, realizing she wanted something else in that moment but not quite knowing _what_ she wanted. She nodded, just a small movement of her head, and then slid out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

* * *

Belle wasn't generally one to blow off steam, but sometimes that really was required. The aborted lunch date, if one could call it a date, with Gold, their argument, his nastiness, her reaction. And that moment where _something_ exploded inside her as he pushed her up against the wall and she could feel him pressed far too close to her. A _something_ that she couldn't quite remember ever feeling with Gaston. Heat had curled around her and hadn't let her go until she had left his office and had a chance to breathe in some fresh air.

That was where Leroy found her, leaning up against the building, taking in a few great gulps of air. The corset she had chosen to wear that morning still felt tight around her and though she had her coat on, covering most of her up, she felt cold and exposed.

The gruff older man stopped as he was just about to enter the building, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What did that bastard do to you?"

Belle met his eyes, just for a moment. "I don't know what you're talking about"

"Come on, sister." Leroy took a step toward her. "I know that look."

"Do you, really?" Belle couldn't help the smirk that broke out on her face.

"Hey," Leroy said and she could hear the slight hurt in his voice. "Ol' Leroy may not be much to look at, but I've had the occasional luck with the ladies."

She smiled then. "Any lady would be lucky to have you, Leroy." She meant it too. The studio's handyman was short and stout, but he had a heart of gold. He would defend any of "his" girls to the death, if needed, probably wielding a wrench or hammer as he did so.

He shuffled his feet. "So you need to talk about it?"

Belle let out a small snort. "No."

"Forget about it?" Leroy asked and she almost laughed at the hope in his voice.

"That's actually not a bad idea." She gave him a slight conspiratorial grin.

"Good. I know just the place."

"Plenty of alcohol?" Belle wasn't the type to drink much, not usually at least, but she definitely needed to unwind and a bit of alcohol to numb the system seemed like it was the best medicine at the moment.

Leroy leaned forward slightly and winked at her. "Definitely."

* * *

Belle had changed quickly, wanting to get out of the constricting reminder of her disastrous lunch date with their new director, and met up with Leroy at the exit of the studio. She had never been to The Rabbit Hole before, had always thought it was a bit of a dive bar, but Leroy assured her both plenty of alcohol and anonymity.

"Wait for us!" Belle turned and saw Ruby rushing down the hallway, Ariel closely at her heels. "You can't have a girls' night out without us."

"It's not a_ girls'_ night," Belle pointed out, nodding her head toward Leroy.

"Close enough!" Ariel said. Her voice was bright. Come to think of it, her voice was _always_ bright. Belle couldn't remember a time when Ariel was anything but upbeat. And that was rather ironic, really, because Belle was usually considered to be pretty bubbly. She didn't know when some of that disappeared. Perhaps it was when her father's business went under or when he jumped on some lousy investments that bankrupted him. It was certainly _before_ she found herself in this industry.

Sometimes she missed those days, back when she was happy and carefree and her whole life was ahead of her. But at least she had good friends here. And those good friends were _exactly_ what she needed that night.

"So dish, Belle." Ruby was the first one to speak when they got their table at The Rabbit Hole. The place was noisy, not yet totally packed, but the loud music was slightly overwhelming.

Belle shook her head. "Dish?"

"Oh come on. Mysterious meetings with Gold, storming out of his office, this whole thing with me auditioning men for you? What's going on?" She waggled her eyebrows and Belle tried to laugh it off.

"Nothing, I swear."

"Belle." Ruby clearly tried to make the word a warning, but the big grin accented by the bright red lipstick she was wearing made her seem rather less fierce than she probably hoped.

"I don't know," she finally said. "I really don't." She quickly rehashed the story of his offering her the new script, the disastrous lunch meeting. She left out some of the more interesting parts. They didn't need to know how her heart raced when he drew near her. They didn't need to know how she had felt hot and cold and confused and _something_ when he had shoved her up against the wall in his anger.

"A new script, huh?" Ruby asked, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"I suppose that makes sense," Ariel tossed in. "I mean, Gaston had basically _one _thing he did over and over again. New guy, new script."

"No more burly football players!" Belle said with a laugh. "I was so _sick_ of that script."

Leroy made a harrumphing sound. "Why not short burly men? Why aren't _those_ ever featured?" He had a sour look on his face, but Belle scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm rather awkwardly around his shoulders.

"Well, you never know Leroy. Maybe that's what Gold's looking for." She winked at him before releasing him and scooting back. Leroy blushed to the tips of his salt and pepper hair and glanced back down at his glass. Belle _almost_ felt bad for embarrassing the man, but she knew he gave as good as he got.

"Oh I doubt it's short and burly he's after." One of Ruby's eyebrows was raised as she spoke and she had a knowing smirk on her face.

"No?" Ariel asked. Belle never could quite figure out how Ariel could sound so guileless after being involved in the adult industry for a few years, yet still she managed it.

"Can we talk about something else?" Belle interjected.

Ruby ignored her entirely, as she expected her to, really. Once the woman got something in her mind she simply _would not_ let it go. Even if she should. "Oh no, not at all. I suspect he's looking for short, skinny, and…"

"Just stop," Belle muttered.

"Crippled?" Ruby continued with. "Is that politically correct/"

Ariel's face scrunched up. "I don't think so."

"Well, either way, I think Gold wants _Gold_ to star in this little film." She elbowed Belle not quite gently in the ribs.

"Ruby." She tried for a warning note to her voice, but came off as indulgent as ever.

"You know I'm right."

"I know nothing of the sort," Belle shot back.

"Really?" Belle could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"Yes…"

Ruby shook her head. "Let's just see this new script then, shall we? See what Gold's up to once and for all." She leaned over and Belle pulled her purse out of range. Ruby gave her an assessing look. "You haven't even looked at it, have you?"

Belle grumbled something that was entirely incoherent in the loud bar.

"You didn't?" Ariel asked on a gasp.

"Can't blame her, sister," Leroy spoke up. "I probably would have thrown it in the trash."

"I thought about it," Belle admitted. She had, really, for approximately two seconds. She still needed to work. But more than that, she was curious. He had fired Gaston and she suspected it was about _more_ than just his insolence. Gaston had simply made it easy to get rid of him right away. He was not asking her to participate in auditions. He had something new for her, something different.

"Well, you have it here now, so hand it over, woman. I want to see this thing." Ruby held out her hand and Belle sighed. There wasn't really going to be a good way around this. Ruby was truly demanding when she wanted to be.

"Fine." Belle pulled the new script out of her bag and tossed it at Ruby. Within moments, both Ruby and Ariel were bent over the script.

"Ooo," Ruby said, glancing up at Belle for just a moment.

"What?"

"_Ghost of a Chance_. This could be pretty kinky." Belle shook her head. Ariel giggled. Leroy just rolled his eyes.

"I did not need to know that." _Kinky_ was not really what Belle specialized in. But he did say… "Oh God."

"What?" Ruby leaned across the table. "Come on, girl. Tell me."

"He told me I 'deserved better' at our first meeting." She thought about letting her head sink onto the table.

"Deserve better than what?" Ariel asked.

"I assumed Gaston."

"Well, maybe he thought you really deserved better porn?" Ruby's eyes were bright with excitement. Belle just groaned as her friend set to flipping through the script. It was strange watching her as she did so. Ruby's eyes were narrowed as she started to read, a slight furrow between her brows. Then she skipped a few pages, then a few more. As she quickly flipped through the pages to the end, her eyes got wider and wider.

"This does not bode well," Belle whispered to Leroy.

"You said it, sister," the older, gruff man responded with.

"Belle," Ruby finally said and her voice was somewhat breathless.

"Do I even I want to know what depraved things this man wants me to do?" This time she did allow her head to fall on the table, a dramatic gesture she didn't usually make.

"Oh Belle." There was something in Ruby's voice. A softness, a sort of awe. Belle wasn't sure what, but it caused her to look up and meet the other woman's dark eyes. "This isn't porn. This is a _real_ script."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you everyone for the lovely comments and reviews! Please do let me know what you think. This is my first time writing a multi-chapter AU and it's not been easy for me!

* * *

It was the second…third?...time Belle had stormed into Gold's office. She was fast losing track. Had it really only been a handful of days since King had been taken away and Gold had stepped in? Her whole _life_ felt like it had changed. And perhaps it had.

The script. It was _real_. No taking off her clothes, no sex at all. She had googled it that night after she got home from the bar and discovered it was based on a play that centered around a strong woman, her fiancé, and the ghost of her former lover. A real story.

She didn't understand what was going on at all.

Gold pushed her away with crass mentions of her current career then gave her a script that took her _out_ of that career. Was it all a sick joke? Some twisted thing his mind had come up with during his years out of the industry? No one knew where he had been. He had, almost quite literally, disappeared off the face of the earth.

And that made her curious. She could not deny that. She was _curious_ about the man, even if he were an infuriating enigma. She was even more curious now that she held a real script in her hand and yet had his rather harsh words about going to dinner with a _porn star_ stuck in her head.

When she walked into his office, he was seated at his desk, papers spread out in front of him. He seemed to be in deep concentration but as soon as the breeze from the door opening ruffled his hair, his head shot up. "Ah, Miss French. I did wonder when you'd be back."

She slammed the script down on his desk. "What is this?"

He smiled, that sort of smirk that screamed of arrogance and secrets. "I would have assumed you'd know what a script is by now."

"I know what a script is." Belle's voice was tight when she spoke.

"Then I don't see the problem." He looked away from her, back down at the papers on his desk.

Belle shoved the script further across his desk, rather violently if she did say so herself, scattering papers. The script ended up in Gold's lap.

He looked up at her again, eyebrows slightly raised. "Was that really necessary?"

"Of course not," Belle responded with, keeping her voice tempered to a rather sickly sweetness. "Nothing is ever necessary."

Gold let out a rather dramatic sigh. "I suppose I deserved that."

"You did." Belle smirked, crossed her arms over her chest.

She watched as he picked up his papers, carefully sorting them and placing them on the desk. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of looking impatient or annoyed. When he finally finished, placing the last crumpled paper on the top of the pile, he glanced back up at her. "I told you that you deserved better."

"You did," Belle repeated.

He plucked the script off the desk, long-fingered hands turning it back around toward her as he did so. "_This_ is better."

"This is not…"

"Porn?" He smirked as he said the word. "You're right. It's not."

Belle shook her head. "I don't understand."

Another sigh from Gold as he stood, gripping his cane and limping slowly around the large desk. Belle held her ground as he came to stand in front of her, refusing to back off, refusing to look nervous of his nearness. He stood so close she could feel the heat emanating off his body. He looked strange, slightly feverish, his gaze intense for just a moment before the look disappeared and one of his customary smirks graced his face.

"I told you. You deserve better." The words were whispered and they sent a shiver down her spine. He stepped just a hair closer and one hand rose slightly.

Belle backed away, turned her back on him. "I still don't understand." Her voice was quiet in the silence of his office. Only the sound of his cane hitting the ground as he took another step toward her was louder.

"Belle."

The way he said her name…there was something there, something beyond the usual sarcasm and anger and the dismissive tone she had heard out of him so far. She turned back toward him. "Why are you doing this?" He started to speak, but she held up her hand. "Don't give me that same line about my deserving better. You don't even _know _me."

"I know you far better than you think I do." The words were soft, but strangely earnest.

Belle's eyes widened slightly. "How?"

He made a strange little noise in the back of his throat. "You're an open book, dearie."

"Am I?" She raised one eyebrow. He leaned closer.

"You are."

"Then what am I thinking _right now_?"

He leaned even closer, his face scant inches from hers. She wasn't able to meet his eyes properly. He was simply too close, too _much_. Finally, she took just one small, careful step backward. "Curiosity," he murmured.

"Pardon me?" She hoped he didn't hear the slight husky note to her voice.

"Right now you are thinking about escaping out that door and never ever returning. But curiosity. It keeps you here. Why this script? Why not a porn script? What is he after?" He leaned closer, ever closer, until his breath fanned out across her face and Belle felt her eyes begin to drift shut. "Curiosity, dearie. It's why you've done no more than take one tiny step away."

He released the pressure then, backed away. Not far, really. Just a half a foot or so, but it was enough for Belle to begin breathing again, hand on her racing heart. He was right. She knew he was. "So why _this_ script?"

He shrugged, an elegant motion of his shoulders under the fine cut of his suit. "Because you are an actress, my dear. Not a porn star. And as I've said multiple times, you deserve better than where you are right now." He held up the script and waited for Belle to take it. "And this? This is a script several studios have been after. And I was able to obtain the rights. The part is yours, if you'll have it."

She nodded mutely. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? A chance to shine, to be in a real movie. "Yes," she finally whispered. "Yes, I'll have it."

"Excellent. Then I suggest you go study the scenes I have marked off. I _will_ use you to audition people for these particular roles, after all." The last was said with a slight smirk.

Belle started to leave but those words. She couldn't forget about Ruby in all of this mess. Her life was changing. Drastically, if Gold had anything to say about it. But Ruby and the rest of those who worked for the studio…what would happen to them? "What _was_ all of that with Ruby then?"

"Hmmm?" He had already moved back behind his desk and while still standing, had begun to sort through the papers once more.

"Ruby. All the men. The auditions I thought she was doing for me." The man was either completely obtuse or infuriatingly evasive.

"Oh that?" And she knew he was trying to sound innocent, even if there was a hard edge to his voice.

"Yes that." Belle crossed her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes slightly at the man.

"Well, someone has to continue on with what this studio does." He waved a hand in the air. "Ruby is good at her job, after all."

"She is," Belle had to grudgingly admit. And more than that, Ruby _liked_ her job. Unlike Belle, she had a real desire to be part of the adult industry. She enjoyed the exhibitionism of it all and, as she told her once, she might as well get paid for what she enjoyed doing. "So those auditions were actually for Ruby then?"

"They were."

"I don't believe you."

His eyebrows shot up. "Come again?"

"I just don't. There's something you're not telling me." In fact, there were probably _several_ somethings he wasn't telling her. The man was about as forthcoming as a rock. She knew little about him at this point, but she knew he certainly wasn't one for sharing his plans beyond _exactly_ what she needed to know.

He leaned back in his chair, steepled his hands together, and smirked. Always that same damned smirk. "I have told you everything you need to know."

"Hmm," Belle responded with. She stepped to the desk, put her hands on it and leaned forward. "One of these days you'll tell me everything." She brushed his cheek with one finger of her right hand, surprised to see him turn his face just slightly into the touch.

She watched him for just one moment longer, furrow between her brows, and then left, shutting the door quietly behind her.

* * *

It was sometime late in the afternoon that Belle finally stood, rubbing at the crick in her neck from too long spent over the script. She could barely remember the walk from Gold's office to her dressing room, could barely remember sitting down and tucking into the script. This first reading was just that…a reading. The play was as fun as it was unexpected. She wasn't really sure _what_ she had expected but it certainly wasn't something fun and humorous, more _Noises Off!_ than Shakespeare.

She hadn't assumed Gold had a sense of humor.

She was still pretty sure he didn't. Yet here this script was. Funny, irreverent. It dealt with a woman, her new fiancé, and her fiancé's mother arriving at a cabin owned by her first husband, who had died in a hunting accident. The first husband still haunts the cabin and only the woman can see him. Cue hilarity as he finds out he was killed, she talks to him, and everyone else thinks she's going nuts. The script was face-paced and full of quick back-and-forth dialogue that would keep the audience laughing.

She had found herself nodding and smiling as she read it, a sure sign that it was something she _wanted_ to do.

Which was surprising. Well, everything was surprising really. Gold more so than everything else. She needed to get into his brain, peel back the layers a bit. She liked working with a director she understood, though she realized as of late that there was little she actually had understood about King. He had seemed straight-forward, a good director who knew the audience who bought his films. He had found one idea and stuck fairly close to it and had made a tidy sum

Gold, though? He was a mystery. And while she loved mysteries, perhaps even more than she was comfortable admitting, this was a mystery that was starting to get old.

She tossed the script down with a sigh. She needed to figure him out, perhaps for her own sanity, perhaps for reasons she couldn't quite figure out. She didn't want to spend time thinking about those reasons. If she looked too closely, she wasn't sure what she would find and that made her uncomfortable. Uncomfortable and a little frightened, if she were to be completely honest with herself.

The knock that disturbed her reverie was welcome to say the least. Her head shot up at the sound, a sharp rapping of knuckles disturbing the deep silence she had buried herself in "Yes…come in!"

Ruby stuck her head around the door. "You busy, Belle?"

She let out a small laugh. "Not exactly." She held up the script. "Well, perhaps a little bit busy. But I need a break."

"Oh good." Ruby nearly skipped into the room. "How did it go with Gold?"

She almost snorted at the thought. "About as well as could be expected."

"Did he tell you…"

"No," she interrupted her with. "No he didn't tell me a damned thing." She could feel the frustration creeping into her voice and knew instantly that Ruby heard it too.

Her friend leaned forward and forced Belle to meet her eyes. "You want to _know_ him, don't you?"

"What?"

"You do," Ruby said and there was a smugness to her voice. "He has you intrigued. One of those infamous _mysteries_ you're always talking about."

"Don't be ridiculous," Belle snapped at her.

"I'm not. I remember what you used to say about Gaston. 'Gaston is just so _superficial_, Ruby. What you see is what you get. I want a mystery. I want someone with layers. I want someone I have to figure out. Gaston is just _Gaston_.'" Ruby said the last with a dramatic sigh and a hand pressed to her forehead.

"I don't sound like that," Belle grumbled at her and looked away.

"You do too. It was almost a refrain for you. Every time someone asked you if you and Gaston were getting back together…"

"Oh alright. You might be right about that. Gaston _is_ a superficial idiot. But you're not right about Gold."

"If you say so."

"Can we change the subject?" All of this was hitting a little too close to home for Belle. There was a part of her, a small part that she was trying so desperately to ignore, that knew Ruby was right. Gold had her intrigued. More than intrigued really. She found herself drawn to him in ways she had never been drawn to Gaston, perhaps never drawn to anyone else she had met. There was a core of steel to the man, but also something so very vulnerable lurking just beneath the surface. She wanted to know what that was, loath to admit it though she was.

"Fine." Ruby's voice had a slight pout to it, but she brightened quickly. "Tell me about this script."

Belle's eyes lit up. She couldn't help it. "It's a farce."

"A farce?" Ruby looked slightly taken aback and Belle realized it wasn't because she didn't know what one _was_, but because she didn't really think that's the route Gold would take.

"I know, right? I don't know what I expected, but farce wasn't it." Drama, angst, a play full of hate and anger. That seemed likely to be Gold's idea of a story if it weren't about sex. And strangely enough, though he exuded a sort of raw sexuality that Belle desperately tried to ignore, he didn't seem particularly interested in the subject.

"Huh," Ruby said at length. "So what are you going to do about him?"

"About Gold? There's nothing _to_ do."

"Really now? Still that same refrain?"

Belle said nothing, simply turned away.

"Come on Belle." Ruby scooted her chair closer to her. "Anyone with half a brain can tell Gold has a thing for you."

"But…"

"He _does_. He's doing this all for _you_. The rest of us? We're nothing to him."

Belle shook her head. "What about those auditions?"

"Done. He stopped them all. I don't think he ever wanted anything to do with this production." Belle wasn't sure if her friend was sad, angry, or happy. Perhaps it was a bit of all three. "I'm pretty sure we're on hold until he finishes whatever this _thing _is with you and moves on. Hopefully he'll just sell…"

"Wait."

"What?" Belle knew Ruby _hated_ to be interrupted, but she supposed she was used to it. Belle often got ahold of _some_ idea she just couldn't let go of right away.

"I have an idea." Without much more though than that, Belle excused herself, leaving Ruby in her dressing room and rushing back toward Gold's office.

* * *

"Miss French," Gold said as he looked up at her. She hadn't bothered to knock. That seemed to be developing into an almost regular thing with them. She didn't knock and he didn't get irritated and it was just the way things were. It wasn't the basis for a relationship really, but Belle supposed it was something. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She set the script down on his desk and he glanced down at it, the question obvious.

"The script…" Belle started.

"Haven't we been through this before?" One eyebrow rose as he spoke.

"No," she quickly answered. "Not this particular thing, no."

"Then?" He waved one hand in the air in a lazy motion. "I don't have all day, Miss French."

"Belle."

"Pardon?"

"My name is Belle."

"I'm aware of that." There was a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice.

"Just…stop all the 'Miss French' nonsense..."

"I hardly think being respectful would fall under the 'nonsense' category," he pointed out.

"I just think if we're going to work together, then you shouldn't be quite so formal."

"_Are_ we going to work together?" She was surprised by the earnest note in this voice. He almost sounded relieved, perhaps a bit excited at the prospect.

"On one condition." And here was the tricky part, Belle realized. She had to get him to agree to her plan and even she knew it was a bit crazy. Perhaps even more than crazy, really. But it was _her_ plan and she was going to stick to it.

"You want to make a deal with me, Miss French?"

"Belle," she reminded him.

"Still…a deal with the devil," he mused. "I'm not sure that's in your best interest." For a moment he sounded dangerous and she could see the darkness lurking there, somewhere beneath the expensive suits and designer ties.

"I believe it is."

"Oh really?" She watched as he licked his lips, his eyes alight with _something_. She couldn't quite describe it, but it fell somewhere between darkness and excitement and…lust. Yes. It slammed into her hard as she leaned closer to him, racing through her body and leaving her feeling slightly breathless.

"It's in your best interest, too," she finally managed to say, her voice huskier than usual. She tried not to even think of what she was doing, really. Something about Gold made her go over the edge a bit, act in ways she usually didn't.

"Is it now?" One of his eyebrows arched.

Belle leaned a bit closer. "If you agree to it, you get me to star in this little movie you want to make."

"And if I don't, you'll walk."

"Exactly."

"Are you sure that's in _your_ best interest?"

Belle leaned back and shrugged. "Perhaps not."

"Then out with it, dearie. What sort of deal do you wish to make?"

"I'll star in this movie." And here she paused, dramatic effect and all that. "And you cast the rest of the parts from within the studio."


	6. Chapter 6

"Absolutely not!" The words were forceful and Belle found herself skittering backward a bit from him.

"Then I walk," she reminded him and was pleased to watch him run his fingers through his hair, leaving the normally impeccable strands in complete disarray.

"We cannot cast a _movie_ from the people in this studio," he ground out and Belle just smiled.

"Why not?" She sounded innocent, though she well knew what his next words would be.

"Because they cannot _act_. They are _porn stars_, Miss French, or have you forgotten that?" He stood then, not even using his cane to leverage himself around the desk.

"I am too. Or have you forgotten _that_?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm not likely to forget it," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"You are _different_, Miss French. You have talent. Real talent. You're better than just spreading your legs and giving seductive looks to the camera. Anyone with eyes can see that."

Belle gave him a sad look at that. "I think many people here have talent. There's nothing wrong with what we do…"

"I know that." He spoke softly, though the words carried in the small room. "Miss French…"

"Belle," she reminded him.

"Belle," he said and took a step toward her. "I've been in this field a long time. Or I was…before…" He let the words trail off.

Belle waited expectantly before it became apparent he didn't want to continue. "Before?"

He waved a hand dismissively in the air. "It's very rare to find someone with your kind of acting talent in this industry."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I meant it as one." She was fairly certain he was sincere with the words and hoped her face didn't reflect the embarrassment she felt on the inside.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I think you should give them a chance."

He picked up his copy of the script, flipping over to the character descriptions and scrutinizing them for a moment. Then he sighed. And his eyes met hers. "Allow me to amend the deal."

"Ok?" It was better than nothing, at least. She hadn't been sure what he'd do when she made her proposal, but agreeing to it outright didn't seem to be in his nature. An amendment? She could possibly do that.

"We audition them."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Audition?"

"Yes. You and I. We sit down with the cast list from this studio and decide who might be appropriate for which role. And then get them to audition for those roles."

"There's a catch." The words were a statement.

He smiled, slow and slightly crooked. "Of course there is. If no one shows up, you concede defeat and we have _real_ auditions."

"Deal!" Belle said quickly.

"Not so fast," Gold said and held up one hand. "If people _do_ show up and they are absolutely abysmal, you concede complete and utter defeat and allow me to take over the reins."

She shook her head. "Allow me to amend _your_ deal." He waved a hand at her. "We have to _agree_ that those who auditioned were entirely inappropriate for the roles. Then you can take over the reins."

"Agreed." Gold held out a hand.

Belle let out a squeal and, completely ignoring his hand, put her arms around him in a quick, tight hug. She wasn't even sure what possessed her, but she was suddenly wrapped around him and his arms had come around her and even if she wanted to back away, which she didn't, she found she wasn't able to.

His hands spread out across her back, holding her tight to him, and she was almost sure she heard a sigh before he released her and stepped back.

"I…" Belle shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, but all she could think of was being plastered against him and how well they had fit together. "Should we do this now?"

He cleared his throat and she winced at how awkward things were. It was easier to be at odds, to antagonize each other. "No. Not now. You need to compile some lists, as do I." He shut his eyes briefly. "Let's say…two hours? We'll meet in two hours to go over our lists and get together audition notices."

She nodded. "That sounds perfect."

He moved toward her, cane still settled against his desk, his limp far more pronounced without its aid. Opening the door, he waved her through. "I'll see you then….Belle."

Her smile as she left his office was genuine, as soft as his spoken words. Something had _changed_ there, with that hug. It had opened up a new door and she was suddenly interested in seeing where it would take them.

* * *

She had hugged him. And he was left feeling like the whole world had gone topsy-turvy around him. She had _hugged_ him. And he didn't know if he should laugh or cry or both at once. Probably the latter.

No, _definitely_ the latter.

He made his halting way back to his desk and sat heavily in the chair. There were times, times like _right now_, that he really had no clue what he was doing or why he was doing it. He had come here because he needed to find her, needed to meet her. Because she made him _feel_ things, things he had not felt in years.

And now she had hugged him, crossed that boundary. He had felt her soft body pressed up against his and he hadn't wanted to let her go.

He was in deeper than he was perhaps ready to admit, pushing forward with a plan that he was entirely uncertain of. And less so now. He had been backed into a corner, his feelings clouding all judgment. She had leaned across the desk, gotten in his face, so close, so very very close. And he had simply caved.

The deal was made. Now he had to follow through with it.

With a sigh, he pulled out the script and a roster of those who worked in the studio, and started to think about who might be suitable for the roles. In reality, none of them probably were. And in the end Belle would have to admit he was right and he could go ahead and audition _real_ actors for those roles.

Even then he could hear her in his mind, pointing out that he was casting _her_ and she was hardly a "real actress." In truth, she _was_. He could see the potential for greatness in her, the potential to work far beyond where she was now. And the way she so eagerly jumped at this chance told him that _she_ wanted out as well.

Her little song and dance routine about getting everyone else involved was unexpected, but the more he got to know her, the less surprising it seemed. Belle had a soft heart, even if it was surrounded by a steel core. Oh there was strength there, a strength he hadn't quite expected to find in her. She knew what she wanted and went after it. But she also _cared_ about the people she worked with quite deeply and he found that ultimately a bit disconcerting.

So here he was. Stuck. Or at least stuck until he could prove her wrong and get on with this production.

* * *

Belle had her list. It wasn't a very long list. Gold was right about one thing. Most people in the studio were terrible actors. Gaston wasn't the only one whose only interest was taking his clothes off and getting down to business. Most didn't see it as any sort of art form and Belle supposed they were right. The people watching it certainly didn't consider it an art form. It was a way to get aroused, to get themselves off when no one else was around, to enhance their own sex life if they were perhaps a bit more adventurous.

So acting? It just didn't matter.

But there were some that she had seen a spark in, some that seemed to be in it for something more than _just_ the sex. And some who had no idea that they had any talent. She had jotted down Ruby's name to play the role of the kooky psychic. Ruby _swore_ she was just in it for the sex, but Belle had seen _something_ in her performances. She was capable of far more than she thought she was. Not that being in this industry was bad at all. But maybe someday she might want to get out.

The issue was convincing her to try out. And convincing Gold to give her a chance. Belle didn't fool herself for a moment on this one. She knew he would wiggle out of their deal if he could find some way to do it. He would audition them, declare them all incompetent and start over. She wouldn't quite say that he had some sort of contempt for Ruby, but he knew she might be the hardest to convince him of. Even when off the clock, Ruby dressed in skimpy clothes and flirted with all the men. Gold had seen it and she knew he would have taken his measure of Ruby and dismissed her in his mind.

With a sigh, she grabbed her small piece of paper and headed to Gold's office. She stepped through the door as soon as she arrived, shoving it aside in a rather not unquiet way.

"Don't you ever knock?" Gold was seated at his desk, the script in front of him, writing away on a separate sheet of paper. He didn't even look up when she walked in.

"Should I?" Belle sat down, crossed her arms over her chest.

"What if I were…

"Doing something unseemly?" His head shot up and she leaned forward slightly in interest. "Were you?" The look he gave her was inscrutable. "You were, weren't you?"

"Miss French," he interrupted her with. "I assume you're here because you wish to discuss casting this script?"

"I am."

"Then shall we get down to it?"

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "Of course." She picked up her chair and carried it over to his side of the desk, setting it down close, probably far _too_ close to his chair for complete comfort.

"What are you doing?" The way his voice rose slightly in pitch might have been funny if Belle didn't feel exactly the same way. And she was the one moving the damned chair.

"Did you not want to work on this then?" She managed to pitch her voice in a completely calm manner, even though she felt a slight flutter in her stomach at seeing the chairs so close together.

"Yes, but…"

"I need to see your list. You need to see mine. It just makes sense."

"It does."

She watched him for a moment, not quite sure if that was meant to be a statement or a question. He was fidgeting a little, thumb and forefinger of his right hand rubbing together, left plucking at the papers sitting on his desk. She finally decided to simply sit and let things lay as they were. "It does," she confirmed. "So what do you have?"

She could see the way he steeled himself, stiffening slightly, before nodding and setting himself to the task at hand. "Floyd," he muttered.

"My character's fiancé?"

"Yes."

"Right. Good. So who do you have?" She had some ideas, though she wasn't sure he'd get on board with them. In fact, she had her _perfect_ idea, if only the person in question would decide to audition.

"No one." He said the words with a smirk and Belle sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"Floyd is supposed to be dumb as a box of rocks and you can't think of one porn star who could handle that? Really?"

"Not a one."

She shook her head and sighed in exasperation. "You're not really trying."

"I am."

"You're _not_. Are you going to break our deal?" There was a challenge in her voice as she leaned in closer to him.

He followed suit, his body moving toward hers at almost the same moment. "I don't break deals," he growled and she felt the shiver go through her. If she just…no…she wouldn't think about what would happen if she just shifted forward a bit, just moved her face closer to his, just…no.

"Then look at _my_ list." She pushed it toward him and he backed away slightly. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"David Nolan?" He sounded surprised.

She nodded. "Yes. Look, I saw some of his old stuff…"

"You watched him?"

"Are you jealous?" She couldn't miss the way his eyes darkened and his face tightened a little when she told him she had watched those old movies.

"Of course not."

"Really?"

"Why David Nolan?"

She simply smirked. "The script describes Floyd as a 'tortoise.' He's steadfast and safe. David Nolan just seemed the type." He made a strange sound in the back of his throat at that. "What? Do _you_ want to play Floyd?"

He snorted. "Of course not."

"Then what is your objection to David Nolan?"

"None whatsoever." He let out a small sigh. "You get him to audition and I'll consider it…"

"Good."

"But," he continued, raising one finger to stop her from speaking. "If I decide to give him the role, you have to find a new cameraman for the movie."

"Fine then."

"As long as we're in agreement."

"We are." In fact, she already knew who she would ask to take over David Nolan's role as primary cameraman…well…camera _person_…for the movie. Gold wouldn't like it, but he didn't exactly say he had to approve of her choice. "So what about Crystal?"

He pushed his list at her and she glanced down at it for just one moment, enough to see that he had listed only one person. Her eyebrows shot up as her eyes met his again. He smiled as he pulled her list to him. "Aurora is too bland."

"Bland?"

"Yes. She's not right for the role at all."

"Haven't you seen her do…"

"Probably," he cut her off with. She didn't know why she was surprised, really. He was the type to do his research. "Are you jealous?"

"Of course not." But she couldn't stop that feeling in the pit of her stomach, imagining him watching someone _else_. And it surprised her, really. She _was_ jealous.

He leaned toward her and drew one long finger down the side of her face. "If it makes you feel any better, I've watched your movies more."

She shivered and pulled back. "I told you I'm not jealous." And he just smiled. "So why Ruby?"

"Flamboyant, flaky, party girl? I could think of no one more perfect for the role." He sat back and crossed his hands over chest.

"Alright, I'll give you that one." She elbowed him lightly in the ribs and smirked.

He smirked back and for a moment, just a moment, they fell into an almost companionable silence.

They set to the rest of the cast soon after. The movie thankfully called for a small cast. Their biggest argument centered on who would play the dead fiancé's ghost, with Belle coming up with any number of people she thought could fit the role and Gold shooting them all down for one reason or other. August looked the part but was too sedate. Phillip was all wrong physically but had the right personality. She jokingly offered up Leroy as an option and Gold actually burst out into laughter at that one. In truth, she wanted the gruff older man to audition for Adam, the older gentleman who wanted to buy the cottage the movie took place in.

In the end, they both tossed their lists down and leaned back in their seats, satisfied to at least some degree. They had a list of possibilities for some of the characters and others Belle had agreed to allow Gold to hold auditions for.

"_Not_ porn actors, dearie," he pointed out. "Real auditions for real actors."

She just shook her head. "I honestly don't know why you wanted to do this with a bunch of porn stars anyway." There was a slight pout to her voice.

Gold leaned toward her and wrapped an arm around the top of her chair. "This was your idea, remember?"

"So it was. But you could at least be somewhat kind to the studio you took over."

"I didn't take over the studio."

Belle's glanced over at him. "But you…"

"Your movie. That was all."

"You didn't even make the movie."

"Indeed I didn't."

She turned completely toward him then, all too aware that it placed her close to him. Her shoulder was still almost brushing his, her face just scant inches from his. "Then why? Why are you doing all of this?"

"I told you…"

"No. None of that. _Why_?"

She watched as he closed his eyes, just briefly, before bringing his hand up to cup her face. "For _you_."

"I don't understand."

"I know." One side of his mouth quirked up and she felt the breath leave her body.

"Then _explain._" Her eyes were insistent as they met his. She brought her hand up and touched his and he froze.

"Go out with me," he finally said and his voice sounded almost pained.

"What?"

He gave a small huff of laughter. "Nevermind." And he retreated, turning away as he did so. "I think we're done here. I'll put out audition notices tomorrow."

"No, wait." She moved around him, faced him. "Ask me again."

"I think once was enough, Miss French."

He wouldn't so much as look up at her, instead watching the paperwork he was fiddling with. It was a nervous tic, she realized, something he did when he needed _something_ to do with his hands. She had that too, flipping books around in her hands, tapping pens against her desk. Little things that helped focus her mind.

She sank to her knees in front of him and placed one hand on his leg. She felt him stiffen beneath her, the muscles of his thigh going taut as she dug her fingers into him. "Ask…me…_again_."

He finally met her eyes and seemed to relax, at least a little bit. "Miss French…"

"Belle."

"You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?" he said with a sigh of frustration.

"Nope."

"_Belle_…would you like to go out with me sometime?"

"Like a date?"

"Yes. Like a date."

"To one of those fancy French restaurants?" She smirked as she spoke the words.

"If that's what you want." He sounded surprisingly sincere.

"No comment on my job?" She couldn't help the taunt.

"None," he quickly said, holding up his hands in a defensive posture.

"Then it's a date. Friday night."

"Friday night," he echoed.

Belle stood then, both hands on the arms of the chair Gold still sat in. She shifted forward, face so very near his. His eyes shut and hers nearly did as well. She wanted to feel his lips on hers, wanted to crawl onto his lap, straddle him, wrap her arms around him. Instead she simply leaned in close. "Good then."

And then she pushed away from him and departed. Friday was still two days away. A lot could happen before then.


	7. Chapter 7

The audition notices had gone up and the studio was in an uproar. Everywhere Belle went she overheard discussions about the movie, about what would become of the studio. And those often ended with a slight glare toward her. Gold had made sure that the audition notices included that she would be playing the main character. Clearly it was a vehicle for _her_ and the rest were being invited a long if they so desired.

And a part of Belle was angry at Gold for all of this, wondered why he didn't try to whisk her away and leave the studio with someone who _wanted_ to be involved in the industry. His interest was clearly with her and her alone. And now there was a new edge to it.

He had asked her out.

And she had agreed to go.

She didn't really understand what got into herself when she was with him. She challenged him at every turn and he challenged her right back. He was sharp-tongued and acerbic, sometimes downright rude. But somewhere, hidden deep beneath that in a layer she had only managed to see a few times, there was someone who she wanted to get to know.

She knew there was baggage there. She knew that whatever had caused him to walk away from the industry and become a recluse, whatever it was that had caused him to disappear off the face of the earth for nearly ten years, must be quite painful. She had her own share of pain and sometimes thought that disappearing might be nice. But ultimately she hadn't done it and he _had_.

She wanted to get to the bottom of those mysteries, peel back the layers, figure him out. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt that way.

Of course, she couldn't remember the last time she'd met someone quite so complicated as Gold. One moment he was as good as calling her a whore and in the next he was asking her out on a date. A _date_. She couldn't even quite imagine how that would go at this point.

She needs to find a dress.

The perfect dress. Not that mess she wore the last time. But a real one.

And she doesn't even _have_ a real one.

Or shoes that don't scream _Fuck me_. Because the only shoes she wears except the sneakers for her runs and the sandals for relaxing, are the 5-inch heels she needs for their movies.

"Belle?"

"Oh Ruby, thank God." She jumped up and threw the door open.

"I've knocked three times," Ruby pointed out.

"Sorry," Belle murmured.

"What's going on?" Ruby sounded concerned.

"With?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Don't make me get you drunk, Belle."

"As if that ever worked." Well, it did…_once_. Ruby had once managed to get out the details about her first big fight with Gaston by taking her out to The Rabbit Hole. And Ruby was _good_. She knew how to get right to the heart of the matter.

"So?" Ruby smirked as she leaned forward. "What's with these audition notices?"

"I got Gold to agree to open up the roles to the studio first."

"To porn stars?" Ruby sounded incredulous, almost annoyingly so.

"Yes. To _porn stars_. Come on Ruby, don't tell me you don't think the role of Crystal is screaming your name."

"Does she do it doggy style? Maybe with both of those guys at once?"

"_Ruby_," Belle scolded, punching her lightly on the arm. "You know it's not _that_ kind of movie."

"And you know what I do, Belle. I'm not a real actress." She reached up and smoothed an unruly lock of Belle's hair down. "Not like you."

"You _are_ though," Belle insisted, reaching out to clasp Ruby's hand in hers. "Please tell me you'll consider auditioning for the role."

"Belle…"

"Ruby…"

"Alright. _Fine_. I'll audition. And when he doesn't cast me, you'll just let this go, yes?"

Belle couldn't help the smile that broke out across her face. "Of course. There's just one thing…"

"Yes?" Ruby said with a raised eyebrow.

"Gold thought you'd be perfect for the role too." The words came out in a rush and she winced slightly, waiting for Ruby's reaction. It wasn't really _that_ much of a stretch. He did have Ruby's name down, and _only_ her name, for the role. Though she still believed he was hoping to get the auditions over quickly and move onto the people _he_ wanted to bring in, she knew that Ruby really _was_ perfect for it. She'd prove Gold wrong. She _would_.

"Really?" Ruby's voice had softened just a bit as her head cocked slightly to the side.

"He did, Ruby. I swear. I would never lie to you."

Ruby sighed and lightly touched Belle's hand. "I know."

"Then you'll audition?"

"I'll think about it, ok?"

Belle smiled at her friend. "That's all I can ever ask for."

After a moment of silence, Ruby spoke again. "There's more than just this though, isn't there?"

Belle shouldn't have been surprised, really. Ruby had always been strangely perceptive, picking up on cues that other people would have easily missed. Even when Belle managed to hide her pain from other people, Ruby somehow managed to creep through her defenses and get her to confess what was wrong. "I…yes."

"I knew it! What happened with Gold?"

"Why do you always assume it's him?"

"Newest big thing in life. Strangely possessive of you. Always seems to be sniffing around your skirts…"

"Ruby!" Belle tried for scolding, oh did she ever. But her friend's name came out on a laugh.

"Oh come on Belle. Something happened and I _know_ it involves that man."

Belle bit her lip and felt her cheeks redden slightly.

"You kissed him, didn't you?" Ruby's eyes widened. "I can't believe…"

"No, no," Belle said and she couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up inside her. "Nothing like that."

"Yet?"

"Yet," Belle conceded. "He asked me out."

The scream Ruby let out could probably be heard in the rest of the dressing rooms. "Did you say yes?"

"I did, yes."

"Really? After the last time?"

"I would hardly call that a _date_, Ruby." They went to a restaurant, sure. But a date? If it had been one, it had ended in complete disaster. One he really had deserved. But she was pretty sure that mess did not count as a date. "I made him promise to take me to one of those fancy French restaurants."

Ruby burst out laughing. "Belle, you don't even _like_ fancy restaurants," she pointed out.

"I know. But he owes me that!" And she couldn't help joining in the laughter.

"So when is this infamous date?"

"Oh it better not be infamous, Ruby," Belle warned. "If you so much as _breathe_ a word about this to anyone else I will personally hunt you down and kill you." Ruby started to speak but Belle quickly interrupted. "No. I will send _Gold_ to kill you."

"Alright, alright. I won't tell anyone. So when is it?" Ruby had that _look_ on her face and Belle groaned a bit.

"Friday."

She pulled out her calendar. "So Saturday afternoon…for lunch?" Belle just rolled her eyes. "Unless you think you'll get lucky. Just text me if you do."

"I am _not_ sleeping with him on the first date." It wasn't that the thought of sleeping with him didn't appeal. And Belle suddenly realized quite how much it _did_ appeal. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt such an instant pull to someone. In fact, she wasn't sure she had _ever_ felt such a pull to someone. Gaston had ultimately been someone her friends set her up with, one of those "you never ever date so here's a guy for you" moments in her life. And before him she had dated a few guys, only one of which she would call an honest to goodness boyfriend. She had only slept with Gaston because she was curious about the whole thing. And the sex had been mediocre at best. She sure it could be better and something told her that Gold would be an attentive lover.

"Well, you never know," Ruby said with a laugh.

Belle just have her a look and that made her laugh even harder. "Shouldn't you go prepare for your audition? Gold left copies of the scenes by the audition notice."

"Alright, I know when I'm being dismissed. You just better be ready to spill all the details on Saturday," she warned and then was out the door before Belle could answer that one way or another.

* * *

_At least she had said yes_, Gold reminded himself for perhaps the thousandth time since Belle had left his office. He would have agreed to any of her terms if she would just agree to going out with him. He felt like a schoolboy then, not the middle-aged man he was.

A middle-aged man with a history Belle deserved to know if she were to get involved with him. And he didn't know if she wanted to, not really. But there were things she didn't know, about his leaving the industry, about those ten years he had disappeared from the public eye. She had drawn him back out, had made him want to be seen again. But there were times he wanted to crawl back into that hole he had dug and pretend nothing had changed.

His head was in his hands when the knock came at the door. It couldn't be Belle, returned to tell him that actually she would rather not go out with him thank you very much. She didn't knock. She barged in, took over the space. She was tiny, barely over five feet tall, but her personality was huge.

The knock was firm so he knew it wasn't David Nolan. He fully expected the man to come to him, surprised that he was asked to audition for a part in the movie. He probably had no idea Gold even knew who he was and would be surprised he'd even consider getting him on board. But whenever he stopped by his knock was quiet, faltering.

With a sigh he finally spoke. "Come in." The words were firm, but clearly exasperated.

"Well, well, what have we here?" came the voice before the person appeared around the corner of the doorway.

He was on instant alert. This was not entirely unexpected, though he didn't think he'd see her quite this soon. "And how exactly did you get wind of my return, dearie?" His voice was pitched low, dangerous.

She laughed. "So the rumors _are_ true, then. I thought surely not. Gold returned from the grave?"

"Hardly," he said with a snort. "The town might have been sleepy, but not dead. I can assure you of that much."

"Hmmm," was all she said, turning to peruse the walls of his office, dark eyes missing nothing. She had been his protégé, once long ago, a rising star who had all the drive and intelligence to take his place as director when he retired. It was her impulsivity that had gotten her in trouble time and time again.

"Might I inquire as to why you are _here_?" he finally asked, the words sharp and clipped.

She stepped toward the desk and leaned over it, one manicured nail briefly touching the script for the movie that still lay sprawled across the desk after his meeting with Belle. "I think you know."

He pulled his lips back in what one might call a smile, though it was far too feral to be mistaken as such. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'll make you a deal." Her voice was pitched low, a slight seductive undertone to it that left him feeling rather sullied.

"Oh, are we going to try _that_ one? Really, dearie?" He yanked the script back out from under where her hand still hovered.

"I know you, Gold…."

"You never knew me," he cut her off with, the words said with a slight sneer. "Not even your mother did, try though she did."

She snorted. "My mother." There was little else that needed to be said. Cora was a dark spot in his life, still one that rankled to this day. It might have been over ten years ago, but some things were never quite forgotten, no matter how hard he tried. And he had tried. Damn, but he had tried, holing himself up in a little town, barely seeing the light of day for more years than he could count. The heart had healed to some degree at least, but the head would never forget.

Regina was a reminder, a harsh one really. "What _do_ you want, dearie?"

She leaned closer. "You know."

"Oh this?" He placed his hand flat on the script in front of him, keeping it pinned to the desk. He saw her hand twitch slightly.

"That was _supposed_ to be mine," she ground out.

"Was it?" He couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face. He damn well knew that Regina had wanted the script. When he began shopping around for the perfect vehicle to launch Belle's career, he had found it and knowing Regina wanted it just made it all that much more delicious to snag right out from under her. She hadn't seen it coming and hearing about her rage second-hand had been almost a triumph for him.

Somehow seeing it in person made it all that much better.

"You know it was." There was a dark edge to her voice.

"Well, it's just too bad you didn't know the right things to say…"

"Or the right amount of money to bribe the writers," she shot back with.

He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned back in his chair. "Well, there is that, too. Fact is, dearie, I _won_."

"You only _think_ you've won," Regina said with a cold-blooded smile. "You haven't yet." She leaned over his desk and he allowed her, not moving from his overly comfortable-looking position. She could snatch the copy of the script away from him but even she knew that would do little good. He still owned the rights to it and unless she could convince him to sign them over, she wasn't getting anywhere near it. The closest she would get was holding it in her hot little hands.

But she wasn't interested in picking it up apparently and he was too late to push aside the list that he had sitting right in front of him. "Belle, hmm?" Regina said and there was a knowing look on her face. "She's going to be your star? That mousy little thing?"

"She's not…"

"Well, I guess she's not mousy when she has her legs spread, is she now?" Regina smiled then dark lips pulling back into a feral smile that mimicked the one he often used. For a moment he wondered if she had learned it from his mother who, in turn, had learned it from him. That family was truly very much alike, both women cold, heartless, and ambitious.

"Well, well," he finally managed to say, smirk returning as he leaned forward. "It seems you _did_ learn something from your mother."

"No thanks to you," she shot back.

He cocked his head slightly to the side. "I don't even know what that means."

"I think you do."

He smirked. "Right."

"Nothing else to say for yourself?" This time it was her turn to cross her arms over her chest. Anger and defensiveness all seemed to roll together in one with Regina. She had a long history of a volatile temper, of doing whatever it took to get the job done, but also of always having to cater to her mother's wishes. Cora was not an easy woman to live with. He didn't envy Regina that much, at least.

"The door is that way, if you'd like." He made a vague gesture at the door.

She took a step toward it before turning back. "You're fooling yourself if you think that you can do this movie with your little _porn star_."

"I'm not casting porn stars, dearie." He wondered if she'd even notice the pluralization of the word there. Words were not quite as important to Regina as they _should_ be. He had often one-upped her through the use of his words alone. "I'm casting actors."

"And your little Belle is at the top of the list," she sneered back.

He refused to answer to that one, the words cutting just a little bit too close to home. He had a date with her and soon, a chance to push whatever this was to some new level. He wouldn't let Regina screw that up for him with insinuations. Her mother had managed to push his buttons just one too many times. Regina wasn't going to be allowed to pick up where she had left off. "The door is _that_ way. You'll excuse me if I don't see you out." The last was said while picking up the cane at his side, twirling it once in his fingers.

"Of course." Regina leaned forward, just an inch or two. "I forgot that you're a _cripple_ now." She let the words hang and turned to leave, pausing just inside the door. "Don't think this is over Gold. I'll cripple this production just as well as you crippled your leg. You can count on _that_." And then she was out the door, letting it slam behind her.

Gold took a deep breath. Then another. He couldn't honestly remember the last time he had come in contact with one of the Mills women. He had hoped, all those years ago, that when he walked out of the business that would be the last time he'd ever lay eyes on either one of them. He knew that coming back, that taking the reins of this little production company, that treading on Regina's toes even if it _were_ behind the scenes, might bring him to their attention.

They missed nothing, really. Both were keenly intelligent and driven. Neither were capable of taking no for an answer. His spurning Regina's attempts to take him out of play, playing word games, all of the things he once used to do with her mother, would lead nowhere good.

He would head her off at the pass, though. She had played her cards, put them all out on the table, made sure he knew she was there and watching and ready to pounce. But one thing Regina seemed to have forgotten in the years, likely all that time of being at the top of the game blurring those memories, was that Gold got what Gold wanted.

Not much had changed there, despite the years holed up in Storybrooke, Maine. He hadn't lost his edge. He had just…forgotten it for a little while. It seemed it was time to find that edge again. Regina wasn't the type to let this go without a fight.


	8. Chapter 8

She was nervous. She didn't know _why_ she was nervous, really. Well, ok, she was going on a date, a real date, perhaps the first one she had ever gone on in her life. She had sort of fallen in with Gaston without much ceremony and certainly no romance. Romance wasn't something that concerned the big lug much, really. Sports did. His libido did. And Belle had found quickly as long as she nodded and smiled, he really barely noticed that she was more interested in the book she had in hand than in what he had to say.

But Gold? He mattered. She couldn't quite figure out _why_ he mattered, though it certainly went further than his ability to make her a star. Not that she thought for a minute this little film would do _that_, but she knew that it had the opportunity to at least launch a career in an industry that wasn't made for seedy movie theatres you wouldn't want to be caught dead in and home entertainment.

He mattered because, for some reason, she couldn't get the bastard out of her head.

She and Ruby had gone dress shopping the day before and Ruby, bless her soul, had managed to keep up a chatter that kept Belle's mind off exactly what they were shopping for. "The dress must be classy," Ruby had said, adding quickly that classy did not mean _not_ sexy and she would find her the perfect dress for her "sacrificial date."

As if she was going out with him simply because she _had_ to, as if she had to date him in order to get the lead in this movie. She didn't. She knew that. Somehow she knew the man was above bribery.

And this wasn't about bribery. It wasn't about trickery. There was something _honest_ in his voice when he had asked her and that had been what had surprised her the most, what had caused her to react with incredulity.

The last time they went out, business lunch and all, had been an unmitigated disaster. This time she swore it would be better. Though she worried. She had dared him to take her to that fancy French restaurant he had insisted was too good for her the last time. And the reality was quite sad. She had never been to one before. She didn't think she actually _wanted_ to go to one. The thought of which fork to use and where to place the napkin and her inability to read the menu despite her last name, left her feeling rather worried about the whole thing.

She wondered if she would be an embarrassment.

She wondered if it was too late to back out.

"You're thinking of calling it off, aren't you?" Ruby came up behind her and with the softness in her voice, Belle knew she was worried about her.

"What? No."

"You are." She put her hands on her hips. "Just take this. Get dressed. Gold will be here in less than an hour, woman."

"But…"

"Do you not like him, then?" One eyebrow rose as Belle glanced down at the dress she was holding. There was no answer to that. She _did_. "Then what is wrong?"

"Nothing. Nevermind. I'm just being silly." She left Ruby then, stripping off her comfortable pajamas and staring at the rather uncomfortable thong that Ruby had insisted she buy for the night. Ruby was _still_ insistent the night would end with her in bed with Gold, but Belle wasn't really counting on that. She didn't feel _ready_ for that, intense attraction or not. But she had gone along with the purchase. Better safe than sorry, she supposed.

She slipped the dress on, a halter dress in navy blue that was classy, yet fun and flirty at the same time. The top was modest, certainly far more modest than the outfit she had worn the _last_ time she had gone out with Gold. The back was open, revealing, sexy in a way that was entirely acceptable. She had instantly fallen in love with the dress and the sale price had been right. Paired with the pair of silver peep-toe slingbacks she had found, the outfit was near on perfect.

When she stepped out, Ruby whistled. "Gold is going to _love_ it."

Belle just smiled. "Thank you, Ruby. I really appreciate your taking me shopping. I'm utterly hopeless with all of this."

"You're not as hopeless as you might think." She bent down to pick up her bag. "Now you listen to me Belle. You call me, ok? You call me at any time. If the date is an abysmal failure and you want to sneak out the bathroom window…"

"That's not going to happen…"

"Still, call me. If he tries anything funny, you call me. And if he tries anything you really love, well, you call me tomorrow and tell me."

Belle let out a laugh at that one. Ruby, always so interested in her sex life…or lack thereof. "You're a good friend, Ruby."

She smirked. "I know." She opened the door and stepped out.

"I'll call you no matter what," Belle confirmed. Even though she fully expected Gold to be a gentleman, she was glad she had _some_ sort of escape route. If she had had that with Gaston, she might not have even ended up where she was in the first place.

Of course, maybe ending up here wasn't such a bad thing after all.

* * *

Gold was absolutely spot on time. She didn't expect any different really, but still the knock at the door surprised her with how perfectly close to 7:00pm it was. She was never one to be on time. She tried. She tried _very_ hard, but usually some book caught her attention and she lost track of time.

Today she was too nervous to read and so thankful that Gold didn't fall prey to the same affliction. She took a deep breath and opened the door, finding him standing there as immaculately dressed as always. He looked little different than he did any other day, his hair perhaps a bit neater, the cut of his suit obviously more expensive than the ones he wore most days.

"Hey," he said, voice soft, more tentative than she'd heard it before.

"Hey yourself," she responded with and knew she sounded equally unsure, equally awkward. This was new territory. They hadn't known each other long, but she felt like they had been more adversaries than potential lovers, despite the attraction she felt.

He brought his hand out from behind his back and presented the one red tulip to her. She gasped. "How did you know?"

He smirked and bowed low from the waist

She curtseyed automatically, the gesture almost completely graceless. "Let me guess…Ruby?" She didn't really have to question it. Ruby was the only one who knew of her rather severe flower allergy, but that tulips did not particularly bother her. The fact that he even thought to _ask_ let her slightly speechless. Gaston had showed up to their first date with a large bunch of lilacs and one asthma attack later, they had been ready to go on their date. _He never even apologized_, she suddenly realized, though he did at least get rid of the flowers.

"Indeed," he answered with and she couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you." The words came out softer than she expected.

"Whatever for, Miss French?"

"Belle," she reminded him. "And because you even _thought_ to ask."

"Yes well." He cleared his throat. "I wanted to do this right."

She smiled and invited him in. Her place was shabby, but neat, a testament to how little time she spent worrying about its upkeep. Someday she'd have a home of her own and then she would worry about appearances, but for now he'd have to just deal with her sad little apartment. "I'll just be a moment. I want to put this in water."

"Of course."

She rushed to the kitchen, found an old vase that was tucked underneath the counter. She took a quick sniff, hoping she hadn't accidentally spilled cleaner inside it. It wouldn't be the first time, after all, and pleased she found nothing, quickly filled it with water and left the single beautiful tulip there on the counter. It was a lovely gesture, made all the more lovely for her ability to actually enjoy it.

"Now," she said, rushing back into the living room and seeing him standing at one of her bookshelves. "See anything you like?"

He stepped back suddenly, a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry."

"No, no, please. As you might realize, I love to read." The bookshelves were crammed full of books, one neatly organized, holding all her early edition books, but the rest a mishmash of everything from romance to science-fiction to books on history, science, cooking, and any other subject that might have interested her when she visited the bookstore.

"I can see that." He still had that same small smile on his face. Stepping forward, he held out an arm. "Shall we go? Our reservations are at 7:30."

"Of course." She grabbed her purse and linked her arm through his.

As they stepped out of the apartment and onto the walk outside he turned toward her. "Have I told you how beautiful you are?"

Her breath caught in her throat and she paused for a moment before continuing the walk to the waiting car. "I…no…"

"Well, you are." He stopped suddenly and she turned toward him. In the heels she was wearing she was almost at his eye level, a strange thing to experience at her height. Gold was not a big man, even though he seemed to easily fill the room any time they were in it. One of his hands came up to briefly cup her chin and for a moment, just one small moment she was sure the date was going to _start_ with the goodnight kiss. Perhaps they could just skip dinner?

"Thank you."

He nodded and stepped back, releasing her, and with that small movement some of the tension lessened. She could still feel it curling in her belly, butterflies that would not be tamed.

"Your chariot awaits, my dear." He swept a hand toward the limousine that awaited them as a large man stepped out and opened the door for them.

"Is he a giant?" she whispered, leaning over to speak the words directly into Gold's ear. She was surprised to see him shiver slightly before he let out a small huff of laughter.

"No, my dear, though Dove does appear to be one at times." He gave a small quirk of the lips at that. Dove _was_ nearly seven feet tall. To the pair of them that might as well _be_ a giant.

The ride to the restaurant was a quiet one. Gold poured two small glasses of champagne and toasted their hopefully successful date. Belle spoke easily of her hunt for the dress that his eyes told her in no uncertain terms he appreciated. He laughed at the appropriate times and once or twice reached out his hand like he wanted to touch her, pulling back at the last minute.

She wasn't sure the whole time if she wanted him to push things forward so soon or if she wanted to relax into the date and get to know him more before that. She wasn't so sure that the night _wouldn't_ end with her back at his place and all of a sudden she wished she had stuffed a toothbrush into her purse.

When they pulled up to the restaurant, Belle glanced out the window and let out a small gasp. "Remo's Ristorante? It's…"

"Not French," he finished with.

"But…" For a moment Belle thought this was going to be replay of their lunch date and felt her heart sink down to her stomach. But then she noticed the small smile on his face. It wasn't a smirk. It was soft, the crinkles around his eyes deepening as his eyes met hers.

"You didn't want to go to a fancy French restaurant." It was a statement, not a question and Belle's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"No, I didn't. How did you _know_ that?" She hadn't told Ruby. She hadn't told anyone. It had been a flippant remark said in the heat of the moment.

"I just knew," he said, hands spread out in front of him and Belle suddenly had the feeling he really _got_ her. It was a little bit frightening really, how in tune with her he was. But she smiled and shook her head and allowed Dove to open the door and escort her out.

Gold was at her side instantly, one hand on his cane, the other coming to rest at the small of her back, guiding her into the restaurant. The feel of his thumb coming into contact with the bare skin near the base of her spine, tracing light circles there as he opened the door with the hand that held the cane, left her feeling weirdly shivery. "I think you'll love this place," he said quietly as she stepped in ahead of him.

He was right, of course. The restaurant was small, quaint. They were shown to a seat in a quiet out of the way corner and drinks were quickly brought out. Belle suspected he had ordered ahead of time, his obvious wealth getting him whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. It made her slightly uncomfortable for a brief moment. Belle had never been rich, growing up the daughter of a working class father, her mother dying at a young age. And then her father had made lousy financial decisions and they had gone from staunchly middle class to struggling lower class, selling the house and moving into cheaper and cheaper apartments every year. Gold had wealth like someone who had had it all his life.

"How did you know about this place?" Belle asked at last, trying to break the somewhat awkward silence that had fallen on them. The place was tiny and out of the way, not the kind of place someone who wasn't a local would likely know about.

"Meticulous research of course, Miss…" He hesitated there, probably noting the look on her face. "Belle," he finished with, one hand making a gesture in the air.

"Really?" One eyebrow rose.

"You don't believe me?" He held a hand to his heart. "I'm wounded."

Belle let out a laugh. "No, I don't believe you. But we'll let that one pass. It's a lovely restaurant."

He glanced around himself, seeming to notice the décor for the first time. "It is." It was almost perfectly suited to her tastes, upscale without being overly pretentious, the kind of place you could dress nice to go to without feeling like you had to wear a ball gown or worry about the silverware.

"So tell me about Storybrooke," Belle said after a small pause, surprised to see him flinch away from the word a bit. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I guess I did my research too."

He gave her a crooked smile. "No. It's fine. Storybrooke was…well…quaint. It was a good place to get away from it all."

She desperately wanted to ask _why_ he had to get away. There was no indication as to what exactly had happened to him that caused him to retreat in such a way. But she didn't dare ask. Not yet. Perhaps someday…if this all went well.

"I'm sure it was lovely."

"I'm quite sure it wasn't," he responded with and there was that bit of humor coming back.

"Well, perhaps sometime you can tell me about it…" She let the words hang in the air for a moment.

"Perhaps," he responded with and turned to the menu. It might be easier that way, really. He had closed off slightly and Belle was desperate to get things back on track. He wasn't an easy man to get to know, but he had asked her out and so seemed to want to open up at least a _little_. It might take time, peeling one layer slowly back at a time, but she suspected what was at his core was worth it.

The waiter came a short while later and took their order, a good reprieve to set things back to how they were before. They could talk about the food that was coming, allowing those brief moments of small talk to remove the tension.

"So I suppose this is where I'm supposed to ask you about yourself?" Gold finally said, turning the conversation back toward more intimate topics.

"I suppose," Belle responded with. If he got to be mysterious, she did too. Not that her life was exactly one of much interest.

He cleared his throat and she knew the question that was on his mind, though she wasn't sure he would actually get around to asking it. "I…"

"Gaston got me involved," she said quickly. Better to pull the bandaid off in one fell swoop.

"I see."

"He didn't know. He thought it was just a regular audition." She still could remember the look on his face when she walked out, face bright red. The man had suggested stripping down so they could see what she had to offer and she had rushed out, embarrassed and angry.

"But you went back."

Belle let out a nervous laugh. "Obviously. I already told you about my father."

"So you did."

She drew in a deep breath. "Can we talk about something else? I think you can piece together enough of the story. I imagine it's one you've heard many times before."

He shook his head, smile playing about his lips. "I've never had any interest in the women who came to work for me."

"Then why me?"

"Why not?" he shot back.

Belle laughed. "I suppose that's a good enough answer."

He reached out and took her hand in his, warm fingers enveloping hers. "Belle." The way he said her name caused shivers to go down her spine. It was warm, but dark, promising things that were better left unsaid for the moment. "You are special. Never forget that."

Belle was thankful the waiter showed up in that moment with their meal. The tension was getting to be almost _too_ much, smothering her, making it a little hard to breathe. Come to think of it, it was _often_ like that with Gold around.

Their dinners' arrival helped to lighten the conversation and the topics turned to favorite books, a good-natured argument about what constituted modern literature and whether or not they could even make such a judgment call, and their favorite music. She was surprised to find out he liked Late Romantic symphonies. He didn't expect her to like old jazz standards. When he found out she enjoyed singing them, he dared her to sing a line or two and she simply refused on the grounds that she hadn't had quite enough to drink for that one, thank you very much. He gave her a wicked grin and vowed to get her drunk next time they went out.

Belle liked the sound of that "next time" thing. She wasn't so sure about the drunken karaoke bit, however.

His phone rang just after they had ordered dessert. Belle had opted for the house tiramisu. It was a weakness of hers. She simply could _not_ pass up a good tiramisu. Gold had laughed at her enthusiasm and she had threatened him with her fork. Gold had ordered Gelato, admitting that he had a fondness for the creamy Italian ice cream. Desserts, it seemed, were something they both enjoyed and she was happy they were at least comfortable enough with each other to admit it.

The phone ringing had been a surprise, but Gold quickly pulled it out and hit a button to send it to voicemail. "I'm sorry. I must have forgotten to turn it to silent."

"Are you sure it wasn't important?"

"Not more important than _this_." And his voice was so _honest_ that Belle felt the butterflies in her stomach take wing, sharp and hard, leaving her feeling breathless for a moment.

She cleared her throat, unsure of what to say in response to that, when the phone rang _again_. He gave her a look full of consternation and embarrassment and picked up the phone.

"Are you sure…"

"Yes." He glanced down at the phone and frowned at whatever he saw there, before cutting off the call and turning the phone off. He leaned forward, taking her hand in his briefly. "We won't be disturbed again." His voice was warm, his hand even warmer.

"I like the sound of that." She was amazed at the husky tone to her voice. The way his hand lightly caressed hers did funny things to her insides.

He nodded and started to speak when Belle's phone rang. "What the…" She picked up her purse and felt around for the obnoxiously ringing thing. Guests were starting to stare when she finally found it just as it stopped ringing. "I'm so sorry."

"It seems we're in the same boat. Nothing to apologize for, my dear."

"Right." She glanced down at the phone and her eyebrows lowered a little.

"What is it?"

'It's just…" She looked down at the phone again. "Ruby."

"Did you skip girls' night for this?" The teasing note in his voice made her smile for a brief moment before she glanced down at the phone again.

"No. It's just…Ruby knew I was on a date."

"Did she now?"

Belle rolled her eyes. "Ruby knows everything…"

"Someone had to protect you from the monster."

"You're not a monster," Belle cut him off with and realized how much she completely _believed_ that. He might be difficult. He might be contrary and a bit cantankerous. But he was not monstrous and for some reason it was _important_ to her that he understood she truly believed that. She frowned at the phone again. She couldn't imagine any _good_ reason Ruby would call her. If she was just checking on her, she would have texted. Calling her in the middle of the date somehow seemed more important.

"What?"

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Call her back." He leaned back in his seat.

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "Make sure she's ok."

Belle eyed him for a moment longer before turning to her phone and dialing Ruby back. It hadn't even rung once when Ruby answered it. "Belle. I know you're on your date with Gold how's that going by the way?" The words came out in a rush and Belle just blinked once. She had no chance to respond before Ruby was talking again, speaking in frantic tones.

She knew Gold couldn't hear the phone from across the table, but he suddenly leaned forward, the worried crease between his eyebrows deepening. "Right…We'll be right there." She disconnected the call and stared up at Gold, a bit disconcerted by the whole thing.

"Well?" he asked and she knew he probably didn't want to hear the answer.

"The studio," she started with, pausing because she didn't quite know how to say it. "It's flooding."

The waiter chose that moment to deliver their desserts, beautifully presented in their respective bowls. Gold just gave a sigh and Belle well knew how he was feeling. "I think we're going to need those to go," he said and Belle just put her head in her hands.

This was not quite the end to their date she had imagined.


End file.
